Choosing Your Own Path
by Mitsu-Drago27
Summary: What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change things? STORY PUT ON HOLD.
1. What A Wonderful Nightmare

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.

 **WARNING _:_** Please be aware that this is a AU (Alternative Universe), meaning the story more than likely will not be following the original storyline. I write whatever I feel like writing at the time, so if you do not enjoy the way things are progressing, than just back away and look through the many other stories that exist without causing a scene. Characters will likely be OOC (Out of character), there will be OC's (Original characters) and the plot will probably not make any sense in the traditional sense. Other than that, if you still wish to read this story than enjoy!

 _Chapter 1: What A Wonderful Nightmare._

* * *

"The way I see it, life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice verse the bad things don't always spoil the good things and make them unimportant."

— The Doctor

* * *

 **~~~~~Sara's POV~~~~~**

Greeting to all and whoever might be reading this 'story' I have written. Allow me to first introduce my former self to you. My name, in the past, happened to be Sara Alexander Bakers, which I happened to recall after years of disuse. I happened to be a 31-years-old woman before my life completely and drastically changed. For better, or worst? I remain undecided and will allow you the choice in that matter.

As I previously stated, I was an ordinary young hard working woman in my former life. And no, I did not happen to die or anything catastrophic like that.

For you see, I was a woman who valued work over anything else. Whenever I happened to be free of work, I used my free time to something productive, my free time was spent with me entertaining myself through either studying, writing a few reports on certain topics I found fascinating, or if I happened to feel the urge, I would sit in front of a computer watching anything that might spark an interest to me. Anything at all would suffice. It did not matter much to me if it was geography, cartoon, anime, or whatever it may be at the time, as long as it kept me entertained and provided a good experience for me.

Soon enough, anime became something I frequently watched and it had a special place in my heart. It was probably because it was the characters and animation were so well done, to the point where it would immerse me into the story and cause me to grow attached to those characters who teach people a few things about the real world even though they live in a world of magic and the impossibility. The thing I enjoyed the most was the story plot, and the effort, care, and creativity that can be felt through it.

In the end, I was someone known as a minor fan, and I always had a problem where I find myself in a predicament because I am someone who whenever they start working on something, they always finish it before doing anything else. The same thing goes for watching anime. The problem lies on me starting watching something like large scale anime's, for example, Detective Conan, Naruto, Gintama, One Piece, and any other unnecessarily long series. Therefore, I would always grow frustrated and quit watching for a while after reaching the last episode posted, but unfortunately, I would always come back seeing as the series was not completed yet. One Piece became the bane of my life seeing as it is the first long scale anime I began watching and reading.

You would assume I would stop my foolish actions and know better than to start with any animes that are long and on going, but I still have not. Well... That was my former life anyway.

In conclusion, I was a relatively ordinary woman with an ordinary curly mess of brown hair and dark brown eyes. The same as nearly everyone else in the world who comes and goes. That is why I was left confused on was I was chosen into waking up in the body of a completely different person from a completely different world? A known story cliché, if I ever saw one, but it was still one that plagued my existence.

Once more, as I previously mentioned, I was someone completely ordinary, with nothing special or of complication about me. I do not have some tragic tear jerking story that defined me. I had an ordinary education with an ordinary family. A mother, father, but no siblings, making me the center of attention to my parent's love. My friends were also quite ordinary, and I had an ordinary, fully sustainable job that suited me quite fine. I would have most likely passed away without contributing anything extraordinary to mankind, a nameless person to the world, yet I was perfectly fine with that idea. Again, I questioned the reason as to why I out of everyone else in the world woke up in another universe where I actually had to be someone of great importance to influence a certain someone else on walking the right path and changing the world for the better.

I know, very complicated and quite the weight. It makes me wonder about whoever runs these things and thought it would be a splendid idea to have someone like me put into something so complicated. Especially seeing as I was a realist before this happened to me. Maybe that was why I was chosen? Maybe it is to change my viewpoint of the world? Either way, I was not happy and tried to hold on to my views in a world that insist on completely annihilating it.

To the creature or deity that has changed my existence... I wonder if you were dropped as a child on the head because you choose me, a woman who could be considered lazy by some people seeing as she works behind a desk, does not go out much, hates the heat to the point where she does not exercise much and ALWAYS travels using transportation. Even whenever I get an assignment, I would always complete it that very same time that it was given to me, so that I would not need to concern myself with it. Some may confuse me as being too vigilant, but I do this to relax back at my home. Hence why I am called 'lazy' by those who know what I do when I am alone.

Oh, my apologies, you must be getting quite jaded of my constant rant and significantly long introduction. I can nearly hear you shouting at me to move on with the introduction so that you may know of my situation, but would you even believe a single word of what I am speaking? I know I do not, even though I have lived through it.

It has all began when I was given a few days free of work; a vacation.

This is my life; my story. You are free to believe what you wish to believe.

* * *

"So, when can we see you again?"

"Soon, I suppose."

"Oh, so you're guessing now..."

"Actually, I recently have gotten the approval for a vacation. I will most certainly come visit you and dad as soon as possible!"

"Promise?"

"Of course, mom! My word is my bond."

"You better not forget about us, young lady! Remember, I and your father made you who you are today, so don't you dare forget us in your moment of fame and glory!"

"Mother~ you realize I shall never forget everything you both have done for me. Furthermore, what fame? I'm just an ordinary business woman. I had no idea that sitting on a desk behind a computer screen would help anyone become famous!"

"Hahaha! Okay, okay, you got me. Well, I have to go now, sweetie. Your father's calling to help him with his knees. You know how he gets. I'll see you in a bit, hun."

"Mom~"

"Two days!"

"Certainly. I love you."

"I love you, too. G'night, Sara."

"Good night, mother."

Click.

Fame... Yeah, right. Still, it is a nice thought, but only that, a thought.

 _'I cannot really complain. How many people can get a decent job they enjoy with a decent pay? I am quite fortunate.'_ I stretched tiredly, popping some bones on my back and looked at my clock to determine the time.

 **12:07 AM**

Oh dear, no wonder I feel quite exhausted. It is late, yet I did not even manage to do anything productive in the time I came back from work. I got home, cleaned and organized the house seeing as I had nothing better to do, which took nearly the whole day, and finally called my parents to check on them seeing as my mother usually slept very late ever since I was a little girl. Especially now seeing as I am always late to go to bed thanks to my work.

"What more can I possibly doOoOo ah~?" I yawned loudly, then looked at the side.

Hmm, the bed certainly looks very inviting, but I have not even eaten anything yet, my stomach is begging me for food.

The question remains: To eat, or to sleep?

"Hmm." I hummed thoughtfully to myself. Flopping down ungracefully on my comfortable bed. Sleep seemed to be winning the battle as I felt my body sink in the bed and my muscles relax.

 **GROWL**.

"Argh..." I groaned in pain and annoyance. It felt like my stomach was trying to eat itself in defiance seeing as I was ready to go to sleep.

"I have just sat down!" I whined to no one in particular.

 **GROOOOOWL~**

Okay, sheesh. Food it is.

I grabbed my stomuch in pain. My face contorting in pained.

Now, if only I can get my fat form off my seductive bed and down to the kitchen, and manage to call forth the power and energy to create for myself something decent, then all will be well.

... This will take some time.

* * *

Beeeeeeeeeeed~

I have never wanted something so badly to the point that it consumed my very being. I want to go to bed and drift away to dreamland. Badly.

After somehow managing to drag myself to the kitchen and making myself something to cook, which I decided to be some tasty bacon and eggs —don't judge my nightly eating habits.— then I ever so slowly started dragging myself up the long, long, **long** stairs towards my bedroom.

 **02:14 AM**

I am going to sleep so wonderfully tonight, I can feel it in my veins.

I slowly, but eagerly crawled onto my bed, and in merely a few seconds, I was gone to the waking world, knowing nothing of what was happening around me.

* * *

 **~~~~~General POV~~~~~**

A cute pink haired six-year-old anime girl was seen sleeping peacefully in her equally cute, pink room without a single care in the world. She started to move around in bed, trying to find a comfortable position but only managed to fall off her bed and hit her head comically on her fluffy light pink, almost white colored carpet.

THUD.

"OOOOOWIEEE!" She cried dramatically, whimpering to herself while holding onto her head, her eyes closed tightly in pain with shinny tears in them. Her cheeks were flushed a cute rosy color, and her mouth was small and set downward into an adorable pout.

"My head~" She whined cutely in distress, rubbing her pulsing head in a vain attempt to stop the throbbing pain. While she was busy doing that, she failed to pay attention to her surroundings, and she failed to hear the frantic sounds of rushing footsteps coming closer to where she sat.

"Sakura! What happened, are you alright!?"

The door suddenly burst open, and there stood a handsome young man that the small girl had never seen before in her entire life. She felt a sense of familiarity and recognition in the back of her mind, but she was a hundred percent positive she has never seen or heard of anyone like him before in her life.

So, the young girl, dubbed Sakura, did what anyone else would have done in her place.

She screamed.

The man flinched, as she screamed as loud as her small, high pitched voice would allow her in hopes that anyone would hear.

Sakura quickly scrambled up in an attempt to run, to escape, to get as far away from the crazy situation as possible. Her panicked mind could only give her a single escape route:

The window! Her mind yelled at her perpetually.

The window was her only option, seeing as the stranger was blocking her other means of escape, but unfortunately, as she tried running to the window behind her, she tripped and managed to get tangled up in her blanket. The more she struggled, the more tangled up she became, and seeing herself unable to move made her more scared and panicked by the second.

 _'Stupid evil blanket from hell!'_ She sobbed, cursing the blanket mentally. Her heart was beating inhumanly fast, and tears of panic and frustration were streaming down her chubby flawless face like someone opened a faucet. The only thing she could hear clearly was the sounds of her breathing and frantic heart beats ringing in her ears.

It didn't help her panicked form when she felt arms holding her down.

"HELP!" She sobbed loudly, her voice full of fear and panic. What did the man want from her? What was he going to do to her? Was she going to die alone without anyone she loved?

I don't want to die.

Sakura was scared. Never before has she been in a situating like this before, she is a sheltered girl who never before experienced such a horrifying thing, and she never in a million years thought she would be in such a situation.

The man was saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him, nor could she look at him clearly, yet she could clearly feel how his arms wrapped around her body tightly, completely restraining her. He was huge. Most likely taller and bigger than her. Too tall for it to be normal. He looked like a Titan in comparison to her!

In fact, the whole room looked gigantic, yet the size of it didn't concern her much at the moment. The need to escape and survive was her first and most important mission.

Kick your leg! Bite him! Scream at his ears! **Do something** —

The man changed their position. He was holding her close to him in a way her head was directly on his chest, above his beating heart. One of his hands securely holding her still so she wouldn't do anything rash, and the other was slowly, and gently stroking her head. The action made her traitorous body relax, and for some reason, she almost felt... Safe.

"Oh, baby girl..." He began slowly, speaking in a gentle tone that instantly made Sakura stop all her futile struggles and listen attentively to the man, subconsciously.

"I was so worried, sweetheart." Baby girl? Sweetheart?

"Did you have a nightmare? It must have been very frightful. It's okay now. I'm here. Daddy's here for you, my sweet cherry blossom." The man gave her a genuine smile, his eyes showed complete love and worry directed towards Sakura. It was obvious he cared deeply for her.

Daddy...? What?

"Everything's gonna be alright. Don't be scared, please. I hate seeing you cry." He— Sakura's father, said softly. He smiled reassuringly at the child in his arms, but anyone can see the hurt in his eyes clearly. It broke his heart to see his precious baby girl looking at him with her large green eyes, wide with fear, looking like she was afraid of him. The fear in her eyes was something he saw in the eyes of the people who were looking at death right in the flesh.

He knows those eyes very well.

"W-w-what do you mean!?" Sakura stuttered, she was beyond confused, and she did not want the strange man holding her as close as he was. It made her very uncomfortable, and feel smaller and weaker than she is.

"I-I'm not- My name- Y-you- This is a mistake, please, I didn't do a-anything! Let me go, p-please!" What did he want from her? He is mistaking her for someone she is clearly not. Looking at her with kind eyes not meant for her. She actually almost feels sorry for him. He truly believed she was this 'Sakura', and last time she checked, her name was Sara, not Sakura.

That was when she noticed her strange vision. Everything around her felt so bizarre. They looked almost cartoonish.

In addition to the strange appearance of things around her, Sakura felt like she was missing something on her chest, it felt light and empty, all very wrong, and everything around her was so weird it was almost like looking at a cartoon. She glanced at her body and noticed it was smaller, way too small than before, her hands were small and chubby like a young child's hands, as she was inspecting her body, that's when she noticed the strands of hair that fell in front of her eyes were pink... Pink. Pure cotton candy pink strands. Although, the colors were all very wrong. All cartoony.

Was there something wrong with her eyes? Is she dreaming? It can't be, everything feels too real to be a dream.

She raised her head up to look to her right where she spotted a mirror from the corner of her eyes, and she saw herself for the first time, but... She also didn't really see herself.

There was a small five or six years old little anime girl with soft looking shoulder length, straight (plus messy from all the struggles) bubble gum colored hair, very much unlike her usual familiar long uncontrollable, curly brown/red hair. The cute girl's eyes were large, she has very large adorable emerald green eyes that sparkled like freaking Edward the sparkly vampire, or diamonds if you'd prefer. They were more beautiful and better than Sara's dark brown, almost black small eyes. But what kind of surprised Sara the most was that she wore a cute red and pink PJ's. That wasn't what surprised her, it was the 'Haruno' sign on the chest and shoulders that caught her attention. She saw an exact replica of a miniature, more adorable anime version of Sakura Haruno from the anime Naruto right in front of her, but for some reason, the Sakura in front of her was in better graphics, and she was doing the exact same thing Sara was doing.

Breathing, blinking, moving, making the very same facial expressions that Sara was making.

While Sara or Sakura was busy studying herself, she didn't notice the strange man- her apparent father, having a silent conversation with an ANBU who stealthily came to investigate her sudden cry for help.

After making sure everything was alright the ANBU advised the man to take his daughter to the hospital to check on her head for any damage and quickly disappeared into the shadows. Although, he couldn't help lingering for a bit. His eyes firmly locked on Sakura and her dad in suspicion, deep in thought.

Her scream was full of pure panic and fear. A cry no child should make at the sight of their parent, only an abused child might be able to feel such fear or an adult. A sheltered child like her is far too ignorant to the real world and shouldn't even begin to comprehend an emotion like pure, absolute terror. The ANBU had this strange feeling in the back of his mind that this might be a start to something big. Maybe it was a reenactment of that night. He wasn't sure though, he simply prayed that everything is all fine and dandy. What he did know, was that he must keep a close and careful eye on the girl, and her father for any suspicious moves. For now, everything seemed normal, yet the ANBU thought it'd be wiser for him to report to the Hokage.

With that final thought, the ANBU completely vanished. He had other duties to attend to.

"Sakura? Are you alright?" The man asked his daughter again while looking at her pale face and standing up slowly with her curled up in his arms like an infant.

"I... I don't feel... So good..." She groaned, feeling very faint and nauseous. She was finding it difficult to think straight without getting a headache.

Just what the heck was going on?

* * *

Later on, after taking Sara, now known as Sakura freaking Haruno to the hospital. it turned out that nothing was wrong with her. They said that such a fall shouldn't have caused her to lose her memories or anything of the sort.

That review greatly angered her... Father.

"W-well... Seeing as she did lose her memories, somehow. Try taking her around the village." A nurse said nervously.

"Show her things, places, that might help jog her memories, and ask her some questions to get an idea of how bad her condition truly is. Seeing as the fall wasn't that bad, she should be able to regain her memories in a week's time."

Her dad looked angry as hell to the point she was afraid he would lash out and kill the poor nurse, but thankfully he did nothing. Sakura as well felt weirded out at the explanation the doctors came up with. I mean, they were obviously Ninjas for crying out loud! Was that the best they could come up with? Well, least they healed her head though. It did hurt a little, but now it felt good as new.

While all that was going on, Sakura stayed strangely quiet, not making a single sound or saying anything to the nurses and doctors. Wherever they tried to coax her into a conversation, she gained a scared and panicked look that made her father come to her defense and stop them from 'giving her a panic attack.'

He wasn't that far off, actually.

Now, on their way home, seeing Sakura in a better mood, her father decided to ask her simple questions like:

"Do you remember your name?"

"...it's... Sakura Haruno."

 _'Haruno Sakura, the family name comes first, but we'll fix that later.'_

"How about the village?"

"K-Konohagakure...?"

"your favorite place to go?"

Silence.

"your crush?" Who does not know you exist, was left unsaid.

"...Crush?"

That definitely caught her dad off guard. He recalls Sakura sometimes coming home talking about a 'Sasuke Uchiha' and how adorably cute he was. Of course, as a father, he was protective of his daughter, but she was only five years old and too shy to actually speak to the boy, so there was no need to worry about her little 'crush' on the young Uchiha boy. He was confident that it would pass as she grew older, but seeing her not remembering the Uchiha startled him, yet it also made him very, very pleased.

"Really? You don't remember an Uchiha kid?" He grinned to himself, making sure to look to the side and keep his voice steady. Trying to hold in his excitement. Nothing against the boy, but the moment Sakura developed her childish crush on him, he was put on the 'Warning! Potential Daughter Stealer!' List. Yes, that list actually exists. Had a few people in it as well. Just a few.

About Sasuke, Sakura knew who he was and that she was supposed to have a crush on him, but she— as Sara, wasn't actually fond of him. At all. She actually disliked him in Shippuden for all the wrongs and stupidity he did, and his terrible attitude, but as a kid? Meh. He was okay, but that didn't mean she liked him or had any sort of romantic feelings for him. Yes, she knew, in the end, he comes around and marries canon Sakura. Well, she's not Sakura, so she made a quick tactical decision to 'Forget my beloved crush who is no more to me'.

"No." she said as innocently as she could. Glancing up with big sparkly green eyes at her 'dad'.

"Should I?" As a final touch, she tilted her head adorably to the side.

 _'Yeeeeeeeeees!'_ Her dad did a mental victory dance but worried since now he thinks that her condition may be worse than he thought. "Nah..." He said. _'It just means I have to reteach her the basics, she'll figure the rest out by herself. I just need to watch over her in case she needs me...'_

When they finally got home after some more simple questions, Sakura instantly went to 'her' room —the same pink room she woke up in and experienced true terror— Wanting to be alone, and sat down on 'her' bed taking everything that's happened in.

* * *

 **~~~~~Sakura's POV~~~~~**

Why did this happen? How did this happen? Think back carefully... Okay, I went to sleep and woke up with the feeling of falling. The basic normal feeling of being on the edge of the bed and falling.

After I hit my head, I saw some strange guy who turns out to be Sakura's— now my father. Meaning I'm in freakin' anime! The animation was anime as well! But the animations were better, I could actually see each strand of my hair, and the characters were, even more, breath taking than it is legal. Seriously, it's actually weird, now that I think about it. I actually find my dad attractive. Could I be any creepier?

Of topic, anyways, after that I was taken to a hospital, who's doctors turned out to be completely— almost, useless, and the dud— my... Father... —God I'll never get used to this— start asking me some question which I tried to answer with my limited knowledge, and along the way, I recall glimpsing familiar places like... Ichiraku? Ramen stand. I'm not really sure about the name. It's been a very long time since I last saw or read anything related to Naruto.

We also walked by academies —says new dad—. Both the civilian and ninja academy, which means I should be close to entering one of them —most likely the ninja academy— seeing as I'm not yet the certain age to enter.

Again, The craziest of them all, I'm apparently in the Naruto world. The Naruto world. An anime. God, I'm so lost and confused about my situation!

I'm in a world where everyone breathes fire, controls elements, walk on walls and water, cast illusions, and **kill** as a job! How the hell am I supposed to be one of them!? I know it's cool and all, but when I rationally think about it, do I even want to get hurt or even inflict injury upon someone? Much less kill! And how do you even use chakra? Or even remember those complicated hand signs they frequently use? I know what the anime and some fanfictions I read said about chakra, but this is not the same! Everything's is just sooooo messed up, it's- ARGH!

I ended up screaming into my pillow.

"..."

To be honest, I'm surprisingly handling this very well... Not freaking out as much or going around denying anything. Even acting naturally with my 'new dad', hiding my identity very well, if I do say so myself. What's wrong with me?

"My head hurts." I groaned into my pillow. Why did it have to be Naruto? Why not something else, much safer, like Detective Conan? Yes, I know it's not safe, per say, but at least it did not have crazy supernatural killer people with OP powers! Or even man! I could have met the Noah! Allen Walker, Tim, Lala!

Oh, Lala-chan!

Mental sob.

Heck, I'm even fine with Nougami Neuro!

Hmm... Imagine I woke up in FREE!... That would be... Not too bad. I guess? All those hot guys are much better than this at least.

Oooooh~ I could've woken up in Gakkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun and been a Mangaka or Nozaki's manager or something!

Not that I'm an artist, but if I woke up there then maybe I'll wake up with crazy artistic skills!

After a while of having my brain act weirdly, and fangirl over every other possibility, I sat up again and decided to check my new surroundings. Now, I knew from before that my new room was pink, but to my cringe, my whole room was that bright color, completely pink beyond the eye could see. I didn't mind the color much, but EVERYTHING was PINK! And I mean everything. Heck, even the wood was somehow pink! How? I will never know.

Now that I looked at my new room, I noticed that it was WAY to fancy. Almost fit for royalty, and it almost reminded me a bit of Yui Komori's room from Diabolik Loves.

What. The. Hell.

The bed was king sized, there was a large— compared to my current size — desk, and plenty of books (interesting books for someone who's only five years old, still kinda childish, yet there were some that I found interesting and made a mental list to read on a later date) and there was even a walk through closet with tons of clothes and shoes well organized. At the end of the closet was a door that led to the bathroom.

It was huge. Bigger than my old bathroom. Almost the size of my former room. My new room itself was twice the size of my old one.

The bathroom was amazing, it was probably the only thing that wasn't pink but a pure white in color. Almost like snow, with some nice touches of soft lavender here and there. A big tub sat in the middle, it looked like it could probable hold in four grown people, and still have enough room for them to feel comfortable.

There was a Landry disposal for clothes, a desk with organized shampoo bottles, a hair dryer, soups, towels, etc. anything one would need to be comfortable. In addition, there was a large human sized mirror that opens to show the sink with a small normal mirror on top of it. It was actually well hidden and the only reason I found it was because I accidentally tripped on the well polished ground and saw an opening telling me that there was another 'room' in there.

 _'What the hell does a five year old need all this for!?'_

I cast a second glance at the sparkling tub.

 _'Spoiled brat. I'm a spoiled brat. Great. Just perfect. And the architecture makes no sense! Why is the sink hidden? Day one, and already **nothing** makes sense. I'm definitely in an anime.'_

I decided, after getting over the weird bathroom and staring at my surroundings in disbelief, to go to bed after exploring my new room thoroughly, but not before going to my... Dad to ask him to change the color of my room. It was too creepy and I refused to live in such a unrealistic environment. Besides, I need to actually socialize with my 'dad', else something bad happens, like them discovering I'm not one of them. The outcome of messing up did not look promising.

 _'Or maybe I'll wake up in my old bed? Oh~ the possibilities!'_

"But why? I thought pink was your favorite color" dad asked, confused, while drinking some tea elegantly and having this noble and respectable air around him. I doubt he's a civilian. I suspect ninja!

 _'That's really all I can suspect of a father like him in this world filled with ninjas.'_

"... Y-yeah well... It's a nice color b-but... Too much... Pink" I stuttered. I STUTTERED! I must really be more uncomfortable than I though since I usually never stutter, ever. Of course I'd be nervous, but I actually practiced enough on what to say and how to say it! God, I'm so embarrassed, and if he really is a ninja I'm scared that he might instantly notice that I'm not who I'm supposed to be.

To my surprise, my dad simply nodded in understand with an almost relieved smile. Maybe he too thought all the pink was a bit much? Just a bit.

"So what color do you want it to be, sweetie?" He asked me happily, seeming very happy with the idea of redecorating my room.

Sorry Sakura, it's mine now.

"A-ano..." I blushed after hearing what he called me, feeling more embarrassed and a bit surprised at what I said. Now that I noticed it, why was everyone speaking in English? Or was I talking in Japanese without realizing it? Gasp! Or was it like that episode of Doctor Who, where they go to another country and the TARDIS automatically translates foreign languages to them so that each person understands the other, and it makes it seem like they were actually speaking to each other in the same language with them none the wisest!?

That would have been so cool if it was real.

Maybe it is real in another world... Can't rule out the possibility.

Anyways! Back on the subject at hand. "I don't care how you make it look, only if it's not too girly or too bland. I-I want it to look nice with a homey a-a-atmos-phere." My tongue got tied trying to pronounce the word 'atmosphere'. "Maybe use soft with a bit of dark color to make them clash nice-ly with each other? You know, like yin and... yang?" I trailed off awkwardly after seeing the blank look on Sak-My dad's face. Did I do or say something wrong?

"..."

My dad was silent for a bit, just staring at me with an unreadable look which caused me to shift from one foot to another, feeling very uncomfortable and self conscious. I realize I kept feeling that way all day. "How long did it take you to practice that?" He suddenly said, smiling proudly? What?

"Huh?"

"My God, Sakura! When I saw you reading a vocabulary book I didn't realize you would get so smart in such a short time! I mean your not yet six years old, yet you speak like a grownup! You make me so proud." he patted my head gently with a huge grin on his face. "So, how long?"

Mentally cursing myself for forgetting that I was supposed to act like a child, and hating what I'm about to do, I thanked whatever God there was out there for the dictionary Sakura 'apparently' reads which gave me a reason for my larger than a five year old vocabulary and turned around, running back into my room while shouting in the most silly and childish way I could "cant tell you! 'Night daddy!" And closed the door before jumping onto my comfy bed with the biggest blush on my face and closing my eyes, trying to go to sleep.

 _'God I'm so tired and my heart feels like it's about to burst out of my chest! So many things are going on.'_ I could feel my heart beating hard against my ribcages '... I wonder if Ino and Sakura are friends to begin with. Do I even want her as a friend?'

Slowly, my mind began to drift off as I started losing myself to the land of dreams once again. It feels like I just woke up a few hours ago, and already I'm so exhausted and sleepy even though I barely did anything at all.

 _'Is it just me, or is there something very wrong here? This... Doesn't feel the same...'_ With that final thought, my vision faded to black. The next time I'll wake up will hopefully be in my own body and room, away from the feeling of loss and disorientation.


	2. Alternative Dimension

**Full Summery:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 **A/N:** Usually, I was going to only post one chapter, but I guess I got too excited, or even had too much free time on my hand, so I found myself writing quickly and decided to upload two chapters instead! Have fun reading the next chapter when you're finished with this one~! :D

 _Chapter 2: Alte_ _rnative Dimension_

* * *

"There are many, many, many worlds branching out at each moment you become aware of your environment and then make a choice."

— Kevin Michel

* * *

 **~~~~~Sakura's POV~~~~~**

This isn't a dream, is it?

It's been already two days, today being the second. I've been awake for God knows how long, just sitting on my fluffy, pink bed. Afraid that if I got off the bed it would mean meeting my new dad, and that would mean accepting what is happening to me.

That had me thinking. Will I never see my family or friends ever again? God, I already miss them badly. There are millions of people out there who want this life more than me. I was happy with what I had in the real world, but now...

I don't know what to do anymore. Why am I here? What is my purpose? I mean, the anime is already finished and the ending is basically peaceful. Heck, Sakura, the _original_ Sakura, has a daughter! With Sasuke! Does that mean I _have_ to do the same? And if I don't, will that make me a monster for taking away the life, hopes, and dreams of an unborn little girl?

Because that would be too cruel of an action to make.

I don't want to do that, but I also don't want to marry someone who I don't love just because I _had_ to. I wanted to go to anime as my own character, not an existing character who had a certain role to fulfill. Now, it feels like there are too much responsibilities put on my shoulder. What should I do? What _can_ I do?

God knows how long I sat there with all those overwhelming thoughts going through my mind. I might have even continued thinking negatively and feeling more self pity for myself had it not been for the door opening, and a stranger, but not really a stranger, entering.

My father, Dad, Tou-San, whatever.

"... Ah... Hi dad?" I greeted awkwardly when we made eye contact. It took me a moment to consider what should I call him, what did the original Sakura call him? I decided It's better to play it safe. 'Dad' seems like a normal, respectable way to call canon!Sakura's not so canon father, and I couldn't see someone like a young version of Sakura the type to call her dad 'Father'. She was really childish and... Spoiled? Naïve? as a child.

"Good Morning, my beautiful Cherry blossom." he smiled kindly with so much love and compassion showing clearly in his eyes, completely overwhelming me and making me feel completely out of my element. That smile is not for _me_!

'Wait...' My eyes widened in shock, and I could feel my cheeks heat up. 'H-he has... Anime flowers and sparkles behind him! How is that possible!?'

Goddamn it. I'm mentally fangirling.

* * *

 **~~~~~General POV~~~~~**

True, behind Sakura's father was a light pink background with flowers, and sparkles all around him. Giving him a breathtaking, nosebleed worthy illusion.

It took quite a while for Sakura to regain her wits, and when she did. _'Hold on, what did he just call me?'_ Sakura thought, in complete disbelief. Feeling her cooling cheeks heat up once more. She hoped her face did not resemble a tomato, because it sure felt hot, as if it was really, really red.

Sakura focused all her attention to her father, purposely ignoring his pet names for her, because she feared if she didn't she might die from embarrassment. She took the time to look at her dad's appearance since she didn't have time to properly do that thanks to how fast everything was happening to her, add to that, the fact that she purposely tried avoiding him as much as possible as a way to deny her current situation. She guessed he had enough of waiting for her to settle in.

Her dad was a tall muscular man, not too buff, and not too lean. He was an incredibly handsome young man with pale cream colored flawless skin, and straight, kinda spiky, shinny red hair with long bangs nearly covering his eyes.

Speaking of, his eyes were sharp and serious looking hazel colored, with a hint of gold and red blending in nicely together, but they also had this soft tender look to them when he looked at her or smiled, which made her, and probably anyone witnessing such a smile, feel loved and peaceful (And blush like hell).

He wore dark, forest green sweater with a V neck that showed part of his well toned chest, and had a red silk scarf on his neck, which he didn't wrap around his neck, but kept it hanging stylishly. His pants were midnight black, and lose, with many zipped pockets on them that looked like great places to hide things in. Like weapons...

Sakura's dad looked to be on his late 20's, maybe even early 30's. All in all, he looked VERY attractive. To the point Sakura kind of wished he was not her dad, and that she was older. Only for a split second though! He still is her _father_! But that did not mean she could not appreciate his God given looks!

"G-g'morning, dad.." Sakura whispered shyly. Still not used to the whole situation. No matter how hard she tried to act casual, it just didn't seem to work for her, and it just felt so very wrong. She felt like a lost kid. A stranger in a world not hers, and maybe that really is what's happened to her.

"Daddy." Sakura's dad said sharply. His voice deep and commanding.

Sakura involuntarily straightened her posture and stood straight like a soldier.

"G-good morning, daddy!" She squeaked.

Something told her not to fear him or get nervous around him, but a part of her felt cautious about the man in front of her, she had no idea what to expect and was... Nervous.

Her dad stared and blinked at her strange respond. Suddenly, the room was filled with a pleasant, radiant, heartily laugh.

"Wha- what was that!?" He laughed hard, clutching his stomach and close to falling to the ground and literally do the infamous 'roll on floor laughing'. Thankfully, his laughter died down after a few seconds, and he wiped away a stray tear. He bent down to Sakura's level, giving her a tender look. Amusement clear as day in his gentle eyes as he saw how red her cheeks were from embarrassment.

"Sakura." He began softly. Offering her a comforting smile.

"I know you're scared. You seem to have forgotten who I am. All of our memories together." His smile dimmed a bit as he gained an almost sad look. "The only thing you seem to know is the basic stuff. I truly understand how scary this might be to you, but..." His tone became firmer. "Believe me when I say I will never _ever_ harm you in any way, shape, or form. You are my baby girl, and I love you too much to lay a single hand, or raise my voice at you." He finished. wrapping his strong arms around Sakura who was frozen still at his words and actions.

"Let's make new memories together, 'kay?" He whispered close to her ears and pulled back slightly to give a soft kiss at her forehead.

"... Okay." She answered breathlessly in a daze, feeling lightheaded.

* * *

"Soooo~... I've been thinking." Sakura's dad said cheerfully while cleaning up the plated which they recently just finished eating from.

"Hmm?" Sakura hummed curiously. A bit busy with looking around the kitchen and the living room that connected to it. As she was nosing around, she found a slip of paper; likely addressed to her dad.

 _'Hmm... Should I read it?'_

A part of her said that it wasn't any of her business, but another larger part said 'screw it. Do whatever you want', so she decided to read it while sneaking looks at her dad as he spoke. Barely listening to him.

"I'm thinking about us going out. You know, so you could know your way around, and besides, we kinda need to go to the mall to buy new stuff anyways. And redecorate your room."

 **Dear Akio Haruno,**

 _'Akio? Is that my new dad's name?'_

 **How are you, Akio-kun? I know it's been a while, but you know how busy things are. Still, I doesn't mean we cannot keep in touch. We're friends, after all. Meaning I'll still bother you from time to time, like in the old times, even though you might not hear from me for a while.**

 **Anyways, I know this is very late, yet I still have to say I'm... Sorry for your loss, but look on the bright side. At least you still have your sweet daughter, Sakura, I believe her name to be, right?**

 **Again, I know it was quite a while ago, but still... And I also wanted to say:**

 **THANK YOU!**

 **For everything. We will never forget what you did for us, especially me, and I am forever grateful. It it were not for you...**

 **If you're ever in need anything, ANYTHING at all, just sent me a message.**

 **You know how and where.**

 **Love, your old friend ^^**

 **P.S. My son says 'Greating' to you and Sakura-chan. That boy is too mature for my comfort. Haha.**

 _'That's... Weird. But somehow very sweet.'_ Sakura smiled at the note while putting it back on the table. Reading the note told her that the writer was someone very kind and gentle.

"... We got on our hands a snooper, ey~?"

"EEK!"

Sakura let out a startled squeaked and turned around to see her dad, Akio, staring down at her with his hands placed firmly on his hips. He didn't look mad, more amused really, but having been caught doing something your not supposed to do is a very awkward and embarrassing situation to be in.

"Uh, um, I-I was, er..." Sakura tried to explain herself sheepishly as Akio grew more and more amused at her.

"Heh, your so cute." He said suddenly, causing Sakura to freeze up, momentarily forgetting she was a child, and that he was her dad, as he lightly pinched her cheeks and kissed it tenderly.

 _B-BUMP B-BUMP B-BUMP B-BUMP_

Sakura's face blew up like a volcano, her palms grew sweaty, her head felt light, her legs turned to jelly, and she got her second heart attack for the day.

 _'W-w-why meeeeee!'_ She cried mentally. Trying to get her body to obey her command. God, why have you cursed her with a devilishly handsome father with a gorgeous face, striking eyes, breathtaking smiles, and such 'Make Your Body Flip Out' kisses!? She didn't know how long she will last in this world. She truthfully feared the fact that she will not die fighting a ninja, but die of a heart attack given by her hot father.

N.E.V.E.R before had Sakura been kissed by a guy. As Sara, she never even had a guy friend, much less any sort of relationship with anyone. She lacked any sort of touchy-feely contact, and she doesn't even remember the last time her real dad kissed or hugged her after the age of ten, so she felt completely put out of her comfort zone by her new dad. Her new sparkly ANIME dad.

It was pure torture.

"D-DADDY!" She whined automatically after the kiss as he swiftly and gracefully gathered her in his arms and took her to her room.

"You know how much I love teasing you, pumpkin." He laughed.

"Your just too cute to resist."

Sakura could only grumble in annoyance. She has accepted the fact that her face will forever be the color of a tomato, and the likely fact that people will probably call her 'tomato face' instead of 'billboard brow' in this timeline.

 _'Hmm, wasn't 'Tomato Face' the nickname of Naruto's mother, Kushina? Or was it just tomato?'_

"C'mon get your things ready, Sakura. We'll leave in a few minutes. I just need to get a few things ready, then I'll come help you get dressed." Akio grinned happily at his daughter and left to do whatever he wanted to do.

Sakura paled then turned red again at the thought of having a man dress her up.

 _'Oh, hell no! I don't care if I'm his daughter, or whatever. I'm still an old woman, and I refuse to let him see me nude!'_ Sakura's eyes shined in determination as she sprinted to her closet and grabbed the first and closest thing she could get her arms on, and quickly started undressing while keeping her eyes on the door in case her dad came back.

She pulled up her long white and pink striped socks that went up to her thighs. Zipper up her knee length puffy and frilly white and pink dress, and tried her best to tie the bow correctly with her small awkward fingers. It was then Akio returned.

"Sorry I'm late, Sakura." He looked up to freeze when he laid eyes on her. "Wha—?"

"Ano... Surprise?" Sakura glanced down awkwardly. Afraid of meeting her dads gaze. What was she going to say?

She had to set him straight. She can't keep playing the part of an ignorant and innocent five year old spoiled little girl. She was a thirty-one year old woman! She still is that woman mentally even though she keeps getting these strange urges to do silly things a few times, she will not succumb to those weak urges! She needed to at least tell Akio that she was old enough to dress herself and act independently. Also, show him that she was much smarter, and much more mature than the average child. Suddenly, her eyes shone with the fire of determination.

She looked Akio right in the eyes as she carefully chose her words.

"Daddy, I'm not a baby anymore. I can take care of myself, you don't need to dress me up, or anything. I'm smarter than you think I am!" She stared at him seriously, which didn't work well with her chubby face and only made her look cuter.

Akio simply stared silently at Sakura. His long bangs shadowing his hazel eyes.

 _'... Not a baby anymore, huh.'_ Akio stared with narrowed eyes at his daughter who was unaware of the stare.

 _'Silly girl,'_ he sighed and walked closer to her, getting down on one knee.

"You'll always be my baby girl." He spoke softly as he began fixed his daughter's hastily worn dress, and straightened the wrinkles.

"My _smart_ baby girl."

* * *

Sakura felt guilty.

After that little episode with her dad, she felt consumed by the feeling of guilt. Did she upset him? He obviously seemed upset, but...

 _'I don't know.'_ She thought hopelessly. _'What am I supposed to do in this world? It's not even canon for Gods sake!'_

Indeed, Sakura had come to the conclusion that she was sent to an alternative world of Naruto. The clues all fit. Actually... The most prominent clue was the fact she didn't have a mother, and her dad was a complete hunk of a ninja who never appeared in the original Naruto verse which introduced Sakura's original parents. And let Sara tell you thing, Sakura's- the _original_ Sakura's father is not attractive in the _least_!

"We're here~!" Akio chipped, griping Sakura's small hands tighter so to jolt her out of her thoughts.

When Sakura looked up at the large building before her, she couldn't help but stare blankly, feeling completely dumbfounded.

 _'Is that a mall...?'_

They entered the large 'Mall'.

 _'Yep, it's a mall.'_ Sakura looked around in amazement.

 _'A very big and modern mall! Heck, it's even better than the malls in the real world! It has EVERYTHING!'_

Clothes for ninjas and civilians, shoes, restaurants, and the _technology_!

That was another slap in the face about Sakura being in a completely different universe than canon.

"Daddy, what are we doing here?" Akio looked at his daughter in slight confusion.

"I already said why— never mind. You seemed to be out of it today." Sakura grew embarrassed and looked down to hide her pink face, causing her dad to give an amused smile at her antics.

 _'I'm glad that part of her hasn't changed. She's still the shy sweet girl she always was.'_ Akio didn't know why, but he had a feeling that the Sakura he knew was gone the day she woke up hysterical, and she really did change. It felt pleasant to see some part of her were the same.

"We'll first go looking for new furniture and decorations. Also, I'd like to buy you new clothes seeing as you're a growing girl, and I heard today they have a great deal on their technology~! Who knows, you mind find something worthwhile."

"Oh..." Akio stared.

"That's all you can say?" He teased and smirked when he saw his daughters face rival her hair. Sadly, she didn't say anything to his teasing.

It's better to ignore him. For her sanity.

* * *

Now, Sara never was one for shopping for furniture. It was too much work, and she always came home with a massive headache. Plus, it was tedious.

No, that was always her mother's job.

Currently, as Sakura Haruno, a five year old girl, everything seemed to be worse. Her body was jumpy and twitchy, filled with the urge to run away, play, have fun. She'd rather be anywhere else but in a shop where she had to sit quietly and watch the 'grow ups' talk.

At first, she didn't mind it too much. It was a bit fun to see all the great and expensive stuff laid out around, and choosing anything she found interesting, but it got boring real quick. After that, her dad took her to multiple clothing stores and forced her to try out _thousands_ of dresses that looked too expensive and fit more for royalties. What was he a millionaire!? Her answer was answered when she saw her dad put a huge bag of coins(gold) after paying for her dresses and telling the store clerk to deliver it to their address.

 _'From where does he have all that money from!?'_ She cried mentally. Scared completely out of her mind. She didn't even feel comfortable wearing the dresses seeing as they were made of genuine silk and had so many complicated designs and frills. She was scared of damaging it seeing as _one_ dress was worth her very _life_!

"I don't need all that!" She cried, but unfortunately he disagreed with her and bought her even more. Ignoring her pleas. His excuse was that she was his 'princess' and had to be treated like one.

Before, Sakura wasn't so keen on slipping away from her daddy dearest, but now, the first chance of escape she saw, she took it.

That chance came in the form of a young woman calling to her dad. Just as Akio turned to great the woman, Sakura took the chance to enter a video game section of the store near them.

Feeling safe, and finally having time to calm down from all the excitement, Sakura looked up to study the video game store, and felt like she was punched in the gut.

 _'Holy crap.'_ She gaped.

Games and DVDs of every shape, size, and genre. There was even many she never seen before in her entire life.

 **One Piece: The lost treasure.**

 **Assassination Classroom: Secret of the End Class.**

 **Princess Mononoke: the Last Survivor.**

 **Nanbaka: Nanba Prison or Revenge?**

And many, many, many more. Some were from anime she knew or heard of, but the games were ones she never knew _existed_! Some were completely new to her, but they looked freakin' awesome! Gazing at the games before her made her feel giddy and light headed. It was every gamers wet dream.

 _'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! I NEED to get at least one!'_ She looked around feeling lost. What should she choose? They were all so amazing! Even the ones she never heard about in her entire life!

She glanced to the top games, and blinked in surprise, and nearly having a heart attack, at a certain character posing in a cover of a game.

"Allen Walker." She whispered softly, her eyes wide with adoration and want.

 **D. Gray Man RPG: Chose Your Role!**

 _'That one! I need that one! An RPG!'_ She squealed happily. Nothing mattered to her but the game before her.

She tried getting it, but unfortunately she was too short to reach it. No matter how hard she jumped or stretched, she couldn't come anywhere close to it.

"Excuse me." A soft boyish voice spoke from behind her, causing her to squeak and whip around lightning fast in embarrassment.

Sakura came face to chest with a black shirt, she stepped back a bit and looked up at the boy who looked like he was five or six years older than her. He had long black hair tied in a low ponytail with long bangs parted in the middle, framing his face nicely, and his eyes were a deep misty black color, with concerning stress marks trailing down his youthful cheeks. Even with his flaws, he was very handsome; quite easy on the eyes.

"Do you need help?" He asked her gently after seeing her just gaze at him wordlessly, looking like a dear caught in headlights.

"Eh? O-oh! S-sorry!" She squealed, blushing in embarrassment and bowed insanely fast.

"I-I wouldn't mind s-some help— if it okay with you!" She hastily added. It was insane how soft and musical such a young child sounded! It made her feel like she could easily be lulled to sleep with just hearing him speak.

"Oh! My name is Haruno S-Sakura!" She introduced herself after getting over her initial shock, smiling cutely and nervously with pink cheeks.

"It's fine." The boy smiled at her endearing antics.

"I saw you looking intently at that game." He gestured to the game she was previously jumping for. "And I couldn't help wanting to help after seeing you jumping for it for over five minutes."

Sakura turned red.

 _'Ahhhhh! How humiliating! Was I really that into it!?'_ She looked down in shame trying to will the floor to open up and swallow her.

"It's fine. You actually remind me of my little brother." The boy smiled at her again, it's then that she noticed his smile seemed more real. Genuine. It washed away all her embarrassment and put a pleasant and content smile on her face.

"...You wouldn't mind climbing on my shoulder?" The boy said after gazing at her and studying her game for a few seconds.

"... Eh?"

"It is a bit high, even for me. I could lift you up." He offered lightly. Trying not to make too big of a thing out of what he just proposed.

Sakura wanted to feverishly decline his offer. That was just crossing the line there, and she refused to let a little boy carry _her_ , a thirty-one year old woman, on his shoulders. That was till she made the mistake of looking up at the game, at the appealing front cover, and felt all her nerves and rational thoughts vanish.

 _'I want that game!'_ A childish and possessive part of her cried out and started stomping around.

"I-if you don't m-mind." She muttered, gazing up at him with large hopeful eyes.

Sakura suddenly found herself on the boy's shoulders, and face to face with the game that stole her heart from afar. She eagerly grabbed the game and watched in wonder as the boy gently lowered her down to stand on her feet.

She grinned happily at him and bowed while clutching the game close to her chest.

"Arigato Onii-Chan!" She chirped. Unaware of the way she addressed the boy, nor of the way the background surrounding her changed colors and gained cute flowers and bubbles that floated around her head.

"No problem." He smiled pleasantly at her happiness.

"My name is Itachi." He spoke in slight embarrassment at failing to introduce himself sooner. "Uchiha Itachi. It was nice meeting you Haruno-San."

"Call me Sakura, please." She grinned pleasantly, completely enthralled by the charming boy who helped her. She finally got the game!

"Sakura-San." The boy returned her grin in a more subdued manner. "Well, your father's here. I truly hope to see you again some other time." He began walking away, heading towards the direction of the woman who was talking to her dad previously.

True to his words, her dad was already a few feet away from her.

"Made a new friend?" He dad questioned her teasingly. Grinning widely as she nodded happily at his question.

"Oh! What do we have here?" Akio leaned down to Sakura's height, and gazed curiously at the game she was holding tightly in her tiny arms.

"You want that?" He questioned. Baffled at his daughters sudden interest at video games.

"Yes!"

But seeing how happy his sweet angel is, it would be inhuman for Akio to crush such a darling girls heart, and seeing how content she was with making a new friend out of the Uchiha boy made him decide to ignore the fact that that boy, a _male_ , dared to touch his pure cherry blossom.

It was an innocent gesture, he supposed, and it made Sakura happy. Who was he to take away her happiness.

"Let's go pay for it." Akio said in an upbeat manner. His inner emotions thankfully not reflecting his outer appearance.

"... And maybe buy the console for it while we're at it." Akio blankly added after gazing at the game while about to purchase it. His daughter was all jumpy and happy, completely consumed by sparkles and flowers dancing around her.

 _'That's dangerous. Already she has such control over it. Sooner than planned, and it's already so powerful. The Moe Jutsu, created to make everyone comply with every command the user issues.'_ Akio sweated nervously. _'If she finds out her power, I wouldn't be able to say no to her on any request should she use it on me!'_ He wailed pitifully.

Sakura giggled softly to herself, hugging her new toy tightly to her chest.

 _'I wish she could stay this happy always.'_ Akio thought. _'Always smiling, laughing, innocent.'_ He slowly smiled. Beside, he decided long ago he would comply to her every wish, with or without her new found 'Gift'.

After all, he loved her more than anything in the world.

* * *

Sakura was very happy, very, very happy at the moment. To the point she was confused on why she was so happy. It's just a game, right? Why was she so very pleased about a simple game? Sara didn't even like games, she was more of a reader.

She didn't know what was happening, nor did she care. In her mind, she was happy with everything. She got a new room, new dresses, new game, and made her very first ever friend! A cute boy! And he was so kind to her and didn't make fun of her pink hair or forehead!

First friend? Make fun of me? What?

Sakura was so confused. She was split in half. A part pleased about the whole day, and another very confused and disturbed about her thoughts and emotions.

She didn't know if she should go along with her feelings, or question them further. In the end, her euphoric feelings won out her caution ones, and she continued walking back home, holding hands with her nice daddy and the game with her other hand. Walking with a hop and a skip. Not caring what anyone thought of her, which is something vastly different from Sara who cared too much about the image that she projected to people.

Sakura would constantly look at her new prize, the picture of the new 2018 Allen Walker gazing back at her with his serious frown, and those intense blue-ish silver eyes. Seeing the cover made Sakura's face grow warm as she giggle pleasantly to herself.

"Well, isn't someone pleased." Her daddy commented, equally as pleased.

Sakura didn't answer. She didn't need to. It was plainly obvious on her body action.

"Stay close, Sakura-chan." He daddy said. Pulling her close as they walked through a crowded area.

Sakura looked around excitedly, everyone and everything was so much bigger than her! It was amazing!

She was taken out of her happy thoughts and mood by an angry and disgusted voice shouting.

"And don't you come back, piece of trash!"

She turned her head sharply, just barely catching a glimpse of a gold blur run through the crowd and disappear.

* * *

 **~~~~~In The Next Episode~~~~~**

"Jeez, you are really... Something else." Akio commented. Taking a bite of his delicious cookie cereal.

"..." Sakura only pouted, refusing to look at him.

 _'Jeez, how old is he? He acts so childish!'_ He grinned at her disgruntled face.

 _'... Well, this is anime. Apparently every anime parent has to be a young two year old in disguise. Oh! Did I finish my cereal?'_ True enough, Sakura noticed she already finished her cereal. Must have been while she was busy fuming about the unfairness of having an attractive touchy-feely father.

 _'I swear if he turns out to be actually a cool, serious type of father...'_ She gazed at her dad as he took her plate along with his to the sink.

 _'... I guess he's a good dad... I actually like him.'_

"What are you smiling about~?" Sakura was suddenly assaulted by her dads face smiling widely in front of her face. His hair falling gracefully around his shinny breathtaking eyes, causing Sakura's fingers to twitch, consumed with the sudden urge to run her fingers through his hair and test if it's as smooth and silky as it appeared to be.

 _'SCREW THIS! I HATE HIM!'_


	3. Becoming A Mission

**Full Summery:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 3: Becoming a Mission_

* * *

Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions.

— Elizabeth Gilbert

* * *

Sakura looked around excitedly, everyone and everything was so much bigger than her! It was amazing!

She was taken out of her happy thoughts by an angry and disgusted voice shouting.

"And don't you come back, piece of trash!"

She turned her head sharply, just barely catching a glimpse of a gold blur run through the crowd and disappear. She wasn't able to properly see what exactly was going on. The only thing she could determine was whatever ran away was bright in color and about her size.

Her mood pummeled as a sudden thought entered her mind.

 _'W-was that... Naruto?'_ She stared at nothing dumbly. Her heart beating loudly in her ears, drowning every sound around her.

She could feel herself being tugged away, and she didn't resist.

 _'Was that Naruto!?'_ She screamed in her mind. Filled with panic, and nearly hyperventilating.

" _Sakura. Breath._ "

Sakura looked in alarm, still in shock at what the heck just happened. She dully noted how tight her chest felt and inhaled sharply. She was still unwilling to fully believe the fact she was in a ninja world, and everything seemed so normal, so far. The only strange thing was the nurse yesterday who simply touched her head and made the pain go away. Yet Sakura didn't see any strong hint of superhuman 'powers'. Yet... Seeing Naruto, or the thought of seeing that main character, the protagonist of the story... It was just too soon.

"What was that?" She asked. Her body was trembling. After hearing that angry voice shouting, her body instantly froze up. It was like her body was scared of something, like maybe scared of the scream being directed at her?

She wasn't too sure what was wrong with her, yet.

"Nothing, sweetheart. It must have been a rat, or something. Are you okay? You seem a bit startled."

"Can we go home now?" She said instead, not in the mood to deal with anything at the moment, everything was moving too damn fast, and she wanted a break. She's not dealing with this stress and drama in only her second official day of whatever she's dealing with. More accurately, her fourth day since she avoided leaving her new room and bed two day in a row.

Besides, the blur could have been anything in the whole world. And it's not uncommon for people to have blond hair. As she recalled, the Yamanaka were a clan full of blond heads. Sakura couldn't jump straight to conclusions without observing the whole situation with her very own two eyes.

Akio simply rubbed her back comfortably and quickened his pace. As if feeling her need to get home as soon as possible.

It was already getting dark. They spent more than half the day in the mall with visiting every shop there. His baby girl must be so exhausted with all that walking. Akio was surprised and proud at seeing her move on without any complains children normally make when they go shopping with their parents for stuff other than toys.

 _'A nice bath, and some warm food would do us both good.'_

* * *

Akio was currently seen stroking Sakura's head, sitting beside her laying form on her bed.

"Did you have fun today?" Akio spoke softly to Sakura who simply blinked tiredly at him, smiling in amusement at her attempt to stay awake.

"MmmHmm..." She hummed tiredly. Feeling completely drained. Her fatigue catching up to her.

"I'm glad to hear that. I never saw you so happy about something so small. Maybe we should do that again?"

Sakura simply yawned. Akio's hands automatically moved to cover her mouth. The sight of Sakura's tired innocent face warmed his heart. She deserved her rest.

"G'night, baby girl." He leaned down to plant a soft kiss to his angel's forehead, tucked her in, and left her to her peace.

After he left, Sakura's mind started the slow process of going over everything that happened on her day. Until it came to a screeching halt when it recalled the nice boy who helped her get her game.

 _'Wait a sec, what did he say his name was?'_ She paled.

"Uchiha... Itachi..."

 _'Noooooooo.'_ She groaned into her pillow. Did she seriously meet THE Uchiha Itachi, that very same boy, and she embarrassed herself in front of him and acted like a spoiled brat!? No, no, no, nonononono! She even sat on his shoulders! Lord! She literally sat on a dangerous assassins shoulders!

 _'He was definitely laughing to himself!'_

Sakura quickly got over her embarrassment of what happened, it already happened, so it's in the past now. She began thinking deeply about that very same boy who helped her with her silly 'problem' involving the game.

She knows he meant well, that was plainly obvious from that gentle smile he gave her, and Sara was always a perspective woman who could easily read a person by their body language and expressions. Furthermore, Uchiha Itachi was always a nice man in both the anime and manga, along with him being a broken-hearted child when he had to massacre his own clan, and family. So Sakura shouldn't be too self-conscious about her actions to a boy who was forced to grow to quickly to even be a child mentally. Unfortunately, that didn't stop Sara from feeling ashamed of her actions, and the fact that she did not realizing that the boy was Uchiha Itachi.

He looked exactly like himself, even though the animation is different, he still looked like a young version of Itachi, where he even introduced himself to her! Full name! How in the names of— as her Undertale friends would say — Sans and Papyrus did she not realize she was talking to a soon to be murderer who sacrificed everything, including his very life and happiness for his very village and little brother?

Sakura whimpered, feeling her eyes sting and moistened itself.

 _'Wait, why I'm I crying!? am I... Sad? For Itachi? I mean, he's just a character. I have **nothing** to be sad about. I'll probably never even see him again for a very, very long time.'_ She tried convincing herself, yet her tears kept coming, confusing her more and more.

 _'Go to sleep.'_ She chanted.

 _'Just go to sleep. Today might have been stressful, but tomorrow's a new day. Maybe I'll actually wake up in my real bed, my real house, and my real body, this time. Think positively, as I said, I probably won't see him again seeing as after the massacre the only characters who ran into him were the two important ones; Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura— now me — we mean nothing to this whole plot. We're safe, for now.'_

She drifted to sleep, ignoring the clear water coming from her eyes.

* * *

Akio was pleased to note that the day was a success. His baby girl was slowly falling back into her place, seeming more comfortable with her position, with him, and after buying her that simple game, she was put in the brightest mood he ever saw her in!

Today was definitely a good day. Except for the end there with that sudden commotion. He had a good guess on what was going on.

But, speaking of the game...

Akio reached for the game and looked closely at the cover.

In the middle was a boy with shoulder length white hair, silver eyes, a scar going down his cheeks, and wearing black clothes with a white cape atop of the jacket. His left hand was gone, leaving a cross mark in its place and he was holding in his remaining hand a huge sword with a cross engraved on it.

On his left side were three males and two females. One boy with red hair and an eyepatch wielding a large hammer, another with long dark blue hair in a high ponytail wielding a katana, and another with the appearance of a vampire. One female had short hair, and was dressed in a short... Dress? Another had shoulder length wavy hair and holding what appears to be a large clock.

To his right side were more people, but they were dark skinned, an ashy color, with stigmas on their foreheads and yellow eyes. There were only two girls, and five boys. They were all dressed in white, the opposite of the other group, and had a villainous vibe to them thanks to their smirks and the fat clown-like man standing behind them.

Akio flipped the game to look at the description on the back.

"Hmm..." He hummed thoughtfully as he read about the main character, dubbed Allen Walker.

 _'A role playing game... You can decide your own rout, make choices that will determine the course of the game... Multiple endings... And...'_

"You can choose 'Adventure Mode' or 'Friendship Mode' or 'Enemy Mode' or ' _Romance_ Mode'!? Like hell my baby will 'romance' anyone!" Akio growled, looking at the game in his hands with a look of pure vexation. He glared at the male characters, mostly the main one in the middle.

 _'Don't think I didn't see the way she looked at you, bastard!'_

Calm down, it's just a game!

Akio took deep breaths and decided to read more about the game, apparently the game depended on the 'player's' choice, where they can even decide to be the 'enemy', 'hero', 'neutral', or even brings the two sides of the group together, which is actually a secret route and very hard to do, depending completely on the players actions.

 _'Seems interesting. Still don't approve of the romance option. Other than that, it doesn't seem like a pretty bad game.'_ He hummed, putting the game back. Looks like it was relatively safe for his baby. She just had to avoid the adult themed part of the game and all was good. He had nothing to worry about, Sakura was only five years old, she has no interest in love and romance, and she is a lonely child. He could see her choosing the 'Friendship mode' more than anything.

He has nothing to worry about.

* * *

Sakura wasn't so sure how she managed to avoid having her dad give her a bath and dressing her up. She likes to think that maybe Lady Luck was smiling down on her.

Today seemed like a promising day. Sakura woke up extra early, yet she felt well rested, so she decided to take a nice relaxing bath and got all _her_ stuff ready. She stayed in the warm water for what felt like hours and when she got out, she smelled so fresh and clean, like roses and lavender.

Defiantly top notch products.

She got dressed in a 'simple'— one of the simplest, yet prettiest clothes she could find, which was still very breathtaking and pricy. It consisted of knee length white frilly and puffy skirt that jumped around with every step she took, and a long sleeved white button up shirt with puffy shoulders, and had an elegant, old times vibe to it. As a finishing touch, it came with a frilly cravat. Nice.

She was aware of the fact of having much simpler clothes laying around her closet, but when does someone get the chance to dress up in beautiful dresses without seeming weird, or being called an attention whore. She winced, recalling a faint memory of very long ago at high school.

 _'It's in the past. I need to focus on the present.'_ She cleared her mind of all negative thoughts and proceeded to grab her, surprising, white brush.

Sakura brushed her shoulder length hair till they fell around her head loosely and neatly, and pulled her short bangs to the side. Adding a red hair clip to prevent her bangs from falling in front of her eyes. After she was done, she lightly set down her brush and took a step back to admire her new appearance.

"Pretty!" She smiled happily at her reflection. Never before could she spoil herself as Sara. Her life was all work and seriousness after growing up, and as a child, she never cared much about girly things like dress up, or being appealing in general. Now, being a young girl with a wealthy father and many mesmerizing dresses gave Sara the golden opportunity to doll herself up without any consequences.

 _'This is like a second chance at life.'_ She giggled and spun around. Marveling at how her skirt flew around her gracefully, and laid around her legs so comfortably. It was made of silk and so thin, so as she walked around, she felt like she wasn't wearing anything. There was no restrictions whatsoever!

"Should I wear socks?" Sakura questioned herself. Considering the fact of her skirt flying up and revealing more than it should. Maybe those long, pants-like socks will do?

What does people call them?

Suddenly, large arms circled around Sakura's tiny waist and hoisted her up in the air.

"HIEE!"

"Look at you! You look like an angel!" Sakura came face to face with the handsome face of a grinning Akio.

"Awww, I feel so sad. Did you already shower and change? Without me?" He pouted as he caught glimpse of the still wet bathtub.

"Umm..."

"Shame~" he lightly poked her nose with his.

"On you."

"...!" Sakura could only stare in muted horror and embarrassment. Face once again, a tomato color.

 _'T-t-t-too...'_ She could almost taste his breath.

"TOO CLOSE!" She screeched and pushed her dads face away from hers comically.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Sakura-chan, you're hurting your daddy!"

"Put me down!"

"OUCH! Hey! No biting! We had a deal~!"

* * *

"Jeez, you are really... Something else." Akio commented. Taking a bite of his delicious cookie cereal. He felt a little lazy to make anything today, and his baby always like those cookie cereals, so Akio saw no harm in letting them eat simple cereal today.

"..." Sakura only pouted, refusing to look at him.

 _'Jeez, how old is he? He acts so childish!'_ He grinned at her disgruntled face.

 _'... Well, this is anime. Apparently every anime parent has to be a young two year old in disguise. Oh! Did I finish my cereal?'_ True enough, Sakura noticed she already finished her cereal. Must have been while she was busy fuming about the unfairness of having an attractive touchy-feely father.

 _'I swear if he turns out to be actually a cool, serious type of father...'_ She gazed at her dad as he took her plate along with his to the sink.

 _'... I guess he's a good dad... I actually like him.'_

"What are you smiling about~?" Sakura was suddenly assaulted by her dads face smiling widely in front of her face. His hair falling gracefully around his shinny breathtaking eyes, causing Sakura's fingers to twitch, consumed with the sudden urge to run her fingers through his hair and test if it's as smooth and silky as it appeared to be.

 _'SCREW THIS! I HATE HIM!'_

"Daaaaad! Too close!"

"OW!" The sequel for the bathroom scene was brought to you by a mischievous Akio and an embarrassed Sakura.

Akio leaned back slightly, giving Sakura the space she needs as he laughed heartily at her cherry colored, angry face.

"Sorry, sorry." He snickered. "You're just too cute for me to resist teasing you~" Sakura may not have know her new father for a long time, but by now, she was fully aware of the fact that after teasing her, he would lean down to k-k-kiss her.

Sure enough, he looked ready to lean down. "Don't you dare kiss me!" She squealed, jumping out of her chair, barely dodging the incoming attack.

"Sakuraaa~" Akio whined, pouting at his traitorous daughter. "Do you not trust me anymore?" He frowned.

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. How do you tell a man that his daughter has the mindset of a single adult woman instead of a young innocent child? Answer: you can't.

"O-o-of course I trust y-you... B-but..." She looked down in shame. Trying to rack her mind for an excuse. Akio sighed.

"I understand." Her patted her head. "Not only have you forgotten me, but you're also growing up so fast. Someday, you won't need me anymore." He said sadly, but quickly tried to cover it up with a smile. "My baby is growing up to be an independent woman!" He said in false cheer. Sara could see clearly through the fake mask of cheer his wearing, and the slight sadness in those eyes gripped at her weak heart.

Maybe Sara isn't as mature as she thought herself to be. Maybe Sakura isn't really gone. Because suddenly, unlike herself, she found her eyes water with unshed tears, and she suddenly threw her small arms around her fathers neck, crying.

"O-of course I need you!" She cried. "I'll always need my daddy! Even when I'm all grown up, I'll need you! So please, don't be sad!" She stared at his surprised face pleadingly, trying to convey her thoughts and emotions through her eyes.

He smiled beautifully at her.

"You don't know how happy that makes me feel." He hugged her closer. "I guess my Sakura is still in there." He spoke, lightly poking her chest. Directly where her heart residents.

Akio gave a soft kiss to Sakura's forehead, and this time, Sakura fully accepted the kiss without any complain. Feeling at peace. And strangely, her mind was filled with small clips, memories not her own of Akio, her daddy, teasing and kissing her lovingly as she simply laughed and cheered at the attention he was giving her.

Those were the young Sakura's memories. Apparently, she's not as gone as Sara originally thought. Her actions the day before and emotions were signs of that simple fact. The current memories, no matter how short and vague, are solid proof of that theory.

If only Akio knew how true his sentence was.

 _'Sakura really is here, isn't she? Maybe I'm not all Sara as I thought I was...'_

"Now then," Akio said suddenly, standing up with Sakura in his arms as he walked to the living room. "I think we had enough drama as it is today." He set her down in front of the TV and began fixing her dress and hair for her.

"I took the liberty of installing everything for your game, so you won't have the headache of trying to figure out what goes with what."

 _'Pardon?'_

"I even downloaded the game for you, so you won't need to wait for it, or anything."

"Thank... You?"

 _'Why does it sound like he's going somewhere?'_

"Are you going somewhere?" Sakura questioned curiously, causing her dad to pause and smile sheepishly at her.

"Well, you see, I actually have an audience with the Hokage."

"Oooh! Can I come?" Sakura smiled widely. Unknown to her, her eyes were sparkling with joy, causing Akio to wince and gulp at the thought of bursting his precious daughter's bubble.

"W-well..." He trailed off, flinching at seeing his daughters smile slowly disappear till she looked at him with realization and... disappointment.

 _'Noooooooo! Don't look at me like that! You're making this harder for me than it should be!'_ He cried inwardly, but outwardly miraculously managed to firmly hold his smile.

"Well, I can't actually... Bring you with me, so—"

"Are you going to leave me by myself?" She questioned with wide eyes. To Sakura, that was great news. Some alone time to go exploring to find out more things about her new father and house, but to Akio, his daughters wide eyes were a sign of her fear of being alone.

"NO! No, no, no, no! I'm not leaving you alone, that's crazy." He flailed his arms wildly at the mere thought of abandoning his fragile daughter all alone at home where she could injure herself and there will be no one to hear her cries for help.

 _'Daddy!'_ He could heard her now! Calling out to him in pain. Alone, frightened out of her little mind.

"I'm not leaving you alone." He said gravely, holding Sakura by her shoulders and looking directly into her eyes with all the seriousness of the world.

"Umm..." Sakura stuttered. She wanted to say that she'll be fine by herself, but she was slightly weirded out by her dads face. He honestly looked like he was going to war.

"That's why I assigned some Genin to watch over you while I'm gone!" He cheered, doing a complete 180.

"Eh?"

"I expect you to be on your best behavior."

"H-hold on..."

"They'll take care of your every needs!" He continued cheerfully walking to the door.

"Wait a sec!"

"You can play your game as they watch you!" He put on his shoes.

"Daddy!" Sakura waved her arms in fruitless attempt of gaining her dads attention.

"Bye sweetheart! Take care of the house for me, and stay _away_ from the kitchen!" He advised as he opened they door and walked out of it.

"H-h-h-hold on— Dad—!"

"They'll be here in a few minutes, bye!" He shut the door, cutting off Sakura's words.

Silence.

"... He's gone..."

Her dad left her. He left her alone to go to the Hokage. He left her after saying some Genin were going to watch over her. Genin...

"Ah." Sakura finally understood the fact that her dad basically brought her babysitters. Three kids and their sensei if her memory of Naruto serves her right.

He basically assigned her as a D rank mission.

Sakura basically became a mission...

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

Both civilians and ninja alike were confused by the shout of anger and seeing a respectable looking man such as Akio running as if the devil himself was chasing him, with anime sweat running down his face comically.

* * *

 **~~~~~In The Next Episode~~~~~**

 _'Eeeeeeeee~ Allen-Kun~!' T_ he young cherry blossom swooned mentally at the exorcists gentle and beautiful smile.

"The hell...?" Tsuki muttered, completely put out by the hearts and sparkles surrounding the young, clearly insane, five year old.

 _'A five year old. I repeat, a snot nosed five year old is fangirling over a dumbass fictional video game character.'_ He deadpanned. _'Damn, I'm sooooo bored.'_ Tsuki groaned, then frowned at being completely ignored by both his teammates and Sakura. _'I swear, I'm gonna kill that sorry excuse of a sensei!'_ He vowed to himself.

Meanwhile, our young heroine was feeling very accomplished about her progress with her lov-crus-Allen! She was so immersed with the outstanding game that she completely forgot about her babysitters. Currently, Sakura felt confident about her and sweetheart Allen will finally go out!

 **'A-ano... Sakura-chan... Do you want to... Well, I m-mean...'**

No. Way.

"Eeeeeeek!"


	4. The Love of a Five Year Old

**Full Summery:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 4: The Love Of A Five Year Old_

* * *

Happiness is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be happy. No person will make you happy unless you decide to be happy. Your happiness will not come to you. It can only come from you.

— Ralph Marston

* * *

"Humph!"

Sakura huffed and puffed, for some bizarre reason, she felt slightly hurt, but very annoyed at her dad.

After he left so abruptly, Sakura continued to gaze in childish anger and disbelief at the front door for a few seconds, trying to calm down her unstable emotions and needs. The need to cry, to run after her daddy, to be beside him. She felt scared; being alone. The fear was unreasonable seeing as Sakura has the mentality of a old, mature woman. A woman who lives by herself in her very own apartment, so why fear temporary, in addition, short term solitude? It wasn't even 'solitude', but more like being being some free time for herself for a few short minutes, before strangers would come to babysit her so that she won't somehow hurt herself. Very unlikely to happen to some me like her, but it's not like anyone knew that, and if they did, she'd be dead where she stood.

After that whole episode of tiresome feeling and raging emotions, and after gaining control over her unpredictable younger body, Sakura decided to walk as calmly as possible to the living room, and jumped gracelessly onto her couch before grabbing the controller.

It was time to have fun.

Sakura's body trembled, filled with giddy excitement with simply seeing the front screen of the game, and listening to the catchy music that came with it. She took a deep breath and pressed ' **Start** '.

The screen faded to black for a few seconds before giving her options to choose from.

 **Story Mood**

 **Adventure Mood**

 **VS**

 **Practice Mood**

 **Options**

Sakura instantly pressed 'Story Mood', and was met with a diagram tree that began with a single glowing blue flame-like dot that extended to many different blacked out dots. She guessed they could be the many choices she could make throughout the game, and seeing all those blacked out dots layered out before her filled her with anticipation for all the many routes and outcomes waiting to be explored. It's exactly like a 'choose your own adventure' game!

She began the game by pressing 'X'.

Then began the introduction to the story. The introduction simply took her breath away seeing how it was filled with beautiful visuals and moving characters who were colored so beautifully. The game went on to explaining things on the Noah's, exorcists, innocence, then finally, it mysteriously mentioning her in the game, and how her actions affect the outcome of the game. The introduction ended with the screen cutting to show something that nearly made Sakura jump in joy. A character customizing setting.

Sakura grinned widely, her heart beating erectly in her ribcage. "No way! I can costuming my own character!?" She squealed happily to herself. Glad to see that she wouldn't have to play an already made character, but one made by her design, and so that's what she did exactly.

First and foremost, she choose female as her gender, then went on with carefully making her character in the image she found she liked, which was an older, and more beautiful version of her. It took her exactly fifteen minutes to be fully satisfied with her choice after flipping through many different options that made her head spin.

In the end, her statues went like so:

 **Name : _Sakura Haruno._**

 **Age : _15_**

 **Innocence type : _Equipment._**

 **Personality : _Confident, Generous, Forgiving, Determined._ (Reached maximum personality traits.)**

 **Ability : _Super strength._**

After pressing confirm, four different colored flaming dots came to life in a straight line. They read:

 **Friendship Route.**

 **Romance Route.**

 **Neutral.**

 **Noah Route.**

"Woah." Sakura instantly went to check out the 'Noah' route, unfortunately, the Noah route was blocked off, saying it cannot be accessed until after completing at least one ending.

Sakura shrugged the slight disappointment away, _'it's fine, I wanted Romance anyways.'_ She thought carelessly, purposely ignoring the way her face started to grow hotter by the second, and the faint feeling of embarrassment twisting around her insides at the mere though of romance.

Sakura gazed deadpanned at the tv screen, her face glowing and steam rising as she selected 'Romance Route', her fingers hovered over the controller, still not willing to pressing 'X', till Sara finally snapped.

 _'I'm over thirty years old!'_ She shouted at herself. Mentally beating herself up.

 _'Something such as playing a stupid romance game should definitely not make me feel so nervous! Get over it!'_ She tried to convince her silly mind, and clicked on the bright pink flame. More than ready to get on with her new game.

* * *

Sakura played around for nearly half a hour, not much in her opinion, yet she was still very pleased with her progress. Already her and Allen Walker, who was her romantic partner— cue heavy blushing from Sakura —were becoming such close friends! She even thinks he's started to develop feeling for her after the— awkward and embarrassing —situations they found and were put in. The part where Allen blushes nearly killed her. Sakura was more than ready to visit the Undertaker by then, and order a coffin.

Right now, in game Sakura was trying to deny her obvious feelings for the young exorcist, but Sakura from out of the game was feeling the determination to get them together, and thusly, she was choosing every option possible to speed up their feelings of love for each other. Love will bloom! She swore it.

 _Bang!_

"EEK!" Having been too immersed with her game, Sakura was startled at the sudden sound of her front door opening as if it was kicked open, very loudly might she add, causing her to jump, and nearly giving her poor young body a heart attack. She paused the game and silently crawled towards where the unnatural sound came from. I couldn't have been her dad, that she was sure of no matter how little she knew about the guy, so it must have been someone else.

Obviously.

 _'Hopefully that's my_ babysitters _and_ not _a burglar...'_ She gulped, peeking around the corner only to be grabbed roughly by the scarf of her dress and coming face to face with a young, sneering, face of a boy who was wearing an annoyed expression, along with a vaguely, yet naggingly strong familiar headband on his forehead.

"Tis the brat we're supposed to watch?" He grumbled, clearly perturbed, to the two people standing behind him.

A deep part of the young bubblegum haired girl couldn't help but chide the child for his improper use of grammar, but that was quickly pushed away seeing as the girl felt curious about her new temporary guardians, but she couldn't see them, since, at the moment, she was preoccupied with trying not to choke or breath in any of the— rude! —boy who was holding her's breath, or have him breath in any of her's, fearing how nasty it might be. Her past life told her enough to know that EVERYONE she knows have smelly breath of some sort, no one's breath is minty fresh and smells like _Jasmines_ or whatnot.

While Sakura was busy with breathing, yet not breathing anything unnecessary, she heard a second voice, definitely feminine, utter with disinterest, "guess so."

"Hey, just drop her. You must be gettin' tired of holding her by now." A third young voice spoke, clearly male by the boyish tone, amusement clear in the way he spoke and sounded.

As if right on cue, the boy holding her dropped her, and being a young untrained woman in a child's body, Sakura landed painfully on her behind. Having miscalculated her landing, since she was still unused to the vast night difference. The fall wasn't big, but it still sent shocks all over her body and giving her a minor headache.

"Ow..." She winced, purposely ignoring the cuss the boy that that was previously holding her utter at the sight of her pain, she stood up to properly observe her temporary babysitters while rubbing her backside to lessen the pain. Headache already passing.

But what she saw made her forget the pain completely and stole her breath away.

The boy that carried her has silky black hair falling elegantly in front of his deep sea green, captivating eyes. Sakura would have considered him attractive was it not for his rough treatment of her, and that angry scowl on his face. Yikes, someone was defiantly not a happy camper.

The second male has short dark brown spiky hair that fades to a lighter color at the tips with red eyes. Or were they pink? His eyes were a cross between red and pink, so Sakura wasn't positive about their precise color, but they were very cool in her opinion, and they were filled with clear mischief. He looked like a fun type of guy, cute to boot.

The third and final member of the 'team' was a young bored looking girl with waist length black hair falling like waves behind her and deep narrow purple eyes. She was very pretty, and no doubt would be a killer in a few years time, but her bored and nonchalant expression was a turn off in Sakura's eyes, maybe a turn on to others, but not the young pink haired girl. _Very_ attractive though.

 _'Woa~ they look like superstars~!'_ Sakura squealed mentally, gazing at the ANIME characters with shinny eyes. There were even flowers and sparkles behind each character, like in every harem Shoujo anime or manga where a handsome boy in introduced for the first time! It was so awesome!

"Ooookay? Pinky's starting to freak me out." The scowling boy took a step back away from the creepy girl with the shinny eyes.

 _'What kinda Genjutsu is this?'_ He sweat-dropped.

"C'mon Tsuki! I think this might be fun!" Pink eyes grinned.

"Fun?" The scowling boy, now dubbed as Tsuki scoffed, "What kind of fun is it to be ditched by our lame ass sensei! The jerk left this loser—" he jabbed his thumb at the pink haired weirdo. "To us while he's out there doing who knows what!"

The three teammates looked up as if recalling a memory and shuddered as one.

 _'He's defiantly getting drunk with a woman!'_ They thought as one. No matter how bizarre that may sound, they were certain their perverted Sensei was somewhere that involved either sake or woman, maybe even both. No matter the hour of the day.

"Yona?" The pink eyed make turned pleadingly towards his female teammate.

"Don't you dare try to involve me with your stupid plans, Shu." The female; Yona shut him down mercilessly, and she then walked with her head held high towards the living room, where Sakura was playing her game before their arrival. She took a random book laying around, and sat down to read in silence.

"W-well then..." Shu muttered, disheartened. A gloomy cloud hung over his head.

"A-ano...?" Sakura took a few steps towards him, feeling kind of bad for him, only to be startled back by having his head shoot up in her direction with a wide, excited grin on his face, now surrounding by a cheery air.

"Saaaaay~ what do you do for fun around here~?"

"Tch." Tsuki glared and walked towards the living room, very eager and all too happy to get away from them as soon as possible.

 _'What a party pooper.'_

Sakura turned happily towards her new favorite babysitter; Shu, and grinned. "Well, I was playing my new video game before you came! It's really fun!"

"Huh. Well, then let's see it!" Shu grinned back good naturally, but inwardly he wondered how the hell a young kid could speak so... Maturely.

 _'Oh well, each generation are different and younger, I suppose~'_ he shrugged it off easily. _'Makes this dumb so called 'mission' much easier.'_

They both entered the living room, and Sakura raced towards her spot in the couch, quickly grabbing the controller, and un-pausing the game as Shu sat next to her to observe the interaction.

 _'Maybe this won't be so bad, after all.'_ She thought as she continued her interrupted conversation with Allen.

* * *

 _'Eeeeeeeee~ Allen-Kun~!'_ The young cherry blossom swooned mentally at the exorcists gentle and beautiful smile.

"The hell...?" Tsuki muttered, completely put out by the hearts and sparkles surrounding the young, clearly insane, five year old.

 _'A five year old. I repeat, a snot nosed five year old is fangirling over a dumbass fictional video game character.'_ He deadpanned. _'Damn, I'm sooooo bored.'_ Tsuki groaned, then frowned at being completely ignored by both his teammates and Sakura. _'I swear, I'm gonna kill that sorry excuse of a sensei!'_ He vowed to himself.

Meanwhile, our young heroine was feeling very accomplished about her progress with her lov-crus-Allen! She was so immersed with the outstanding game that she completely forgot about her babysitters. Currently, Sakura felt confident about her and sweetheart Allen will finally go out!

 **'A-ano... Sakura-chan... Do you want to... Well, I m-mean...'**

No. Way.

"Eeeeeeek!" Unable to hold in her excitement, Sakura squealed happily, her heart beating hard against her ribcages, and butterflies filled her stomach.

THE Allen Walker was blushing and gazing shyly at her!

 _'He... He's...! Oh my goodness! Holy lasagna! Holy heavenly lasagna!'_ Sakura pressed next. She felt like she was about to burst from happiness and the anticipation.

Virtual Allen took a deep breath and spoke quickly to the point it was hard to decipher what he said exactly. Thankfully, the text box sitting proudly below the screen told the world exactly what the virtual character spook.

 **'I really like you! Would you please go out with me?'**

 _Grooooowl._

Sakura felt her stomach move around unpleasantly, to the point it hurt, yet she brushed it of after re-reading the text again and again happily, then pressed next where she was brought to a few answers to choose from for Allen's proposal.

 **•Of course, I like you too.**

 **•I don't know...**

 **•I'm so sorry, I can't return your feelings.**

 **•No way! I don't even like you!**

Sakura didn't even have the chance to read the options, stopping shortly at 'of course,' till she was assaulted by another round of her stomach moving weirdly and painfully.

"Ow, ow, ow..." She whimpered softly, holding her tummy tightly. This feeling felt familiar to her. The _past_ her.

 _'Uh-oh...'_ Sakura paled. No she recalled what this uncomfortable feeling was. She experienced the same feeling as Sara, a few years back, when she ate enough their expired food, or something that did not bode well for her body.

"DUTY CALLS!" She squeaked, then ran comically to her new room, leaving clouds of dust behind.

* * *

"Well... that was amusing." Shu smiled widely at the direction their charge ran to.

"That's the only interesting this that's happened in this lousy mission." Tsuki mumbled dismissively. Sitting with his legs atop of the other, and his hands crossed behind his head.

"Hn." Yona agreed, "this mission is truly bland, yet we still must be thankful for the fact that our charge is far more mature than other children, and doesn't cause us much problems. It makes this easier for us." She spoke softly, yet firmly. Still glued to her borrowed book.

"Sooooooooo~ booooooring~!" Shu complained, throwing his head back.

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Tsuki still in his comfortable and 'cool' position, Yona reading, and Shu laying dramatically on the couch.

All of the sudden, after accidentally nudging the remote controller Sakura was using, Shu shot up with renewed excitement and called to Tsuki.

"Hey! Why don't we play this?" He happily said. Proud about his ingenious idea.

"That trash? No thank." Tsuki quickly shot his down. "Like I wanna play some lousy dating game where I date a guy." He scoffed.

"Yes, this." Shu said slowly, as if trying to explain something to a two year old. "Why don't we play this game, buuuuut~ we choose our own options! Like, for example," Shu started to fiddle with the controller and landed his option to 'No way! I don't even like you!'. Not yet pressing it, and looked smugly at Tsuki who got out of his position and was now paying more attention to his teammate.

"That... Might be cool." Tsuki agreed, grinning cockily.

Yona said nothing, but she paused her reading to observe the outcome of their choice. A foreboding feeling suddenly washed over the team, warning them of an incoming danger, but it was very weak, so they easily shrugged it off and carried on with their activity.

Shu pressed the 'X' button.

* * *

Sakura was washed her hands happily with soup after she flushed the toilet. She felt slightly annoyed at being unable to hold her bladder in this young body, and at such an important part of the game, too!

But all was well, because it gave her time to cool off from her out of character fangirling moment down there to fully hold onto her disastrous emotions.

The adult in the body of a young girl rubbed her small delicate hands on a fluffy white towel, her cheeks dusted pink, which she ignored, and turned towards the door, all the while happily skipping onwards, down the stairs, towards her beloved. Wait, she's a child! She shouldn't think like that! Besides, Allen isn't _real_ , he's just a video game character, but she guessed it's fine to crush madly for him since it's impossible for her to—? Okay, she will not continue that thought. Also, it's very creepy that a five year old has this sort of mindset. How concerning.

Sakura shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she got closer to the living room, and as she got closer, she started to hear voices speaking, and no, they weren't her babysitters.

At first, Sakura froze up, the living room was right around the corner, but her joints locked upon themselves after her mind finally put faces to the voices, and processed what exactly was being said.

 **'No way! I don't even like you like that! I barely consider you a friend, Walker!'** Virtual Sakura shouted, sounding disgusted and mortified over something.

A pause.

Laughter. Shu and Tsuki.

"His face!" Shu laughed loudly, sounding like he was about to cry.

"He looks so shocked and— and hahaha!" Tsuki continued, laughing equally as hard.

"Hmm... Whoever made this game must've have fun putting this option and outcome in a dating game." Yona spook in her monotone voice. Strange how this is the longest sentence Sakura heard the pretty young teenager say so far, yet it stabs her heart and fills her with such dread.

 **'B-but... All we've been through, and... All the signs... I-I thought maybe...'** Oh, Allen. Oh, sweet merciful God, Allen's voice was the thing that truly broke the bubblegum haired girl's heart. His voice, once full of hope, confidence, and comfort was now replaced by one she never heard, nor did she ever wish to hear. He sounded so confused, wounded, hurt, betrayed, distraught, _heartbroken_.

Sakura finally rounded the corner, only for her little heart to shatter into tiny little pieces after looking at the screen to see a face that equally matches the voice that cracked her heart.

"Wha...?" She choked out, feeling so very confused. Her mature mind unable to function properly and comprehend what's happening. Didn't she pause the game before leaving? Did she accidentally press the rejection option? Did she leave the remote controller in a position where it lay pressing 'X' and this is the outcome? What was going on? What happened while she was gone?

With that thought, Sakura turned to look at where she put her controller, only to stop shortly when her eyes landed upon one of her babysitter— Shu, she weakly recalled —sitting on the exact spot she was sitting on with the remote control in his hands.

Shu was sitting with the remote control. He was laughing along with Tsuki. Yona sat looking amused and unbothered by their laugh as she continued to observe her teammates interact with the game.

Finally, Sakura understood what happened. It was so simple, they— the jerks —took advantage of her departure and messed around with her game.

In the past, had anyone done something like this to the past Sakura, AKA Sara, they would have gotten slapped upside the head and told politely to GTFO, yet for some obscure reason, Sakura watched in pain as the boys continued to choose cruel options. Her throat was constricting painfully, making it hard for her to breath properly, and her unstable emotions were going haywire in her young easily influenced, sensitive body.

 _Leave this room. Run. Go to your room. Cry till you can't. Sleep will come to wash away all remnants of today._

Sakura's mind whispered comfortably to her, and the young heartbroken girl had half a mind to do all the options presented to her. She turned away, unable to continue to gaze at the tv screen and her _babysitters_ , but before she could leave, she turned to give a final look at the tv, at her favorite character, her tears that have not yet fallen were blinding her, but she was somehow able to notice something about her fictional video game crush. Tears. Beautiful, breathtaking and sorrowful tears were falling slowly from his beautiful misty mercury eyes and down his flawless cheeks.

At that moment, something inside the young girl snapped.

 _'Oh,_ hell _NAW! Those assholes did NOT just make Allen frickin' Walker CRY!'_

Sakura grit her teeth angrily, rage consuming her whole being as she stomped loudly and angrily towards the tv. Her angry approach startled the three teens who were immersed with their new fun game, and they watched completely startled as a child no older than five glared at them angrily, her face red with anger as she abruptly closed the tv and game by pulling the cable, opened the hatch that protected the game CD, and left just as quickly and dramatically as she entered. With the game in her hands.

It was silent for a few disturbing seconds, till...

"Pffffft, AHAHAHA!" Shu threw his head back, and let out a loud bark of a laughter, quickly followed by Tsuki. The only one who wasn't laughing was Yona, but if you were to pay attention, you'd notice a faint outline of a smile forming on her face.

"She so ADORABLE! I swear!" Shu managed to spit out mirthfully between waves of uncontrollable laughter.

* * *

 _'H-how dare they! Those- those—!'_

Sakura wasn't even able to finish her thoughts. Her mind was replaying the even that conspired. Those arrogant brats committed a sin worse than death! They made Allen cry!

As Sakura was running towards her room, tears blurring her vision, she managed to hear through the fog of uncontrollable raging childish emotions the sounds of laughter.

 _'How could anyone be laughing now?'_ She questioned. Her mind a jumbled mess. Never before has she been so upset. All her young life she was spoiled and given everything she ever wanted, yet at the same time time modesty and to respect her elders. To Sakura, her life was a pleasant, sheltered one where no one ever hated her.

Canon!Sakura learned of how cruel people could be at the academy thanks to the teasing and bullies from other girls her age, while this Sakura has yet to enter said academy, and is too shy to go out and socialize. Why would she when all she ever need is her daddy and family, and the adults she does meet are always so polite and never bother her, besides, they always came for her daddy.

Safe to say, Sakura never experienced a day of too much teasing by people, or anything dislikable happening to her. That consequentially gave the young girl a mindset that everyone was her supposed friend who she was just too scared to approach and talk to, and that mindset made her mentally weak to small teasing from people other than her father.

 _'So cruel!'_ The young girl jumped on her bed after slamming her door shut, and she covered herself with her fluffy blanket. Sobs escaping her clenched throat freely.

"W-w-why~?" She chocked out between sob. "W-w-w-why a-re t-they lau-ughing at m-m-meeee~?" She whined, sniffing pitifully to herself.

 _'What did I do wrong to make them hate me so much?'_

A part of Sakura tried to console her, telling her that, no, they did not hate her. That she was being childish. That she was overreacting. That she needed to realize it's _just_ a _game_ —

"No!" Sakura argued with herself.

"They hate me! They hate me! They hate me! That's why they did that! They hate me!" She pushed her more mature side away. Her heart was bigger than her mind, so all common sense was pushed aside by her emotions.

 _'Hahahaha!'_

Their laughters still echoed in her mind. Louder and louder. Poking fun at her. Taunting her.

Causing her to snap completely and go over the edge.

 _'I'll show them.'_ She growled. Forcing herself to get off her bed.

"I'll s-show them." She rasped out. Her eyes glinted with something sinister.

 _'I'll have my revenge—'_

"And it'll be so good~" the young cherry blossom let out an evil giggle. _'Don't you worry, Allen-kun~'_ she giggled again, a foreign feeling consuming her as she walked towards her desk. _'I'll avenge you~'_.

Someone else was going to have the last laugh.

* * *

 **A/N:** Woah! That got... Interesting?

You can easily tell I had too much fun writing this chapter! XD

I wanted to make everything realistic(yet anime) about Sakura and her new life. Meaning I wanted to describe what she does and where she goes, so I described the game she was playing (made me want a game like that, I swear O-O) I thought it'd be more fun to dive deep into a characters life and their likes, not like:

 _(Sakura turned on the game and began playing._

 _-Time Skip- (after her new babysitter came)._

 _Sakura decided to complete her game, it was very fun!_

 _Oh my gosh! Her crush, Allen just confessed to her! Eeeeek!)_

Yeah... ._.

And it was really fun writing about the game X3 I personally think this is my favorite chapter I've ever written, so far :D (next to meeting Itachi for the first time in that wonderful mall *activate Sanji seeing Nami mood*) in all honesty, I wasn't gonna make the silly game too 'important-like', but it somehow became just that and basically took over the whole chapter. XD

Sakura felt, to me, like a realistic five year old girl with her tears and thoughts and feeling about what happened (getting esily upset and emotional), yet she also felt like a realistic anime five year who is all cutesy, but then turns demonic when rubbed the wrong way~ XD

So, what do you guys think of this so far? Tell me in your review~ and see you next month!

ANYWAYS! time for a glimpse of the next chapter~! ;D

 **~~~~~In The Next Episode~~~~~**

 _Ba-bump._

 _'W-wait... W-what am I doing?'_

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat as she was hit by the reality of her standing in front of a Ninja. A real life, air bending, scientific defying ninja. And she was simple a small girl, basically an ant compared to him.

 _'I'm way over my head! How can someone like me do something to those super powered people?'_ She panicked. Sakura didn't know what to do. She finally used her past brain as a young woman, instead that of the spoiled child she acted as, and the realization of the situation she landed herself in frightened her.

 _'W-what am I—'_

 **"Relax~"**

A whispered voice spoke directly into Sakura's ear. Soft, warm, and full of comfort. The whole world seemed to vanish in an instant at the presence of this peculiar voice. It dimmed her her focus on reality and made her lose her concentration.

 **"Sleep, and let me handle everything~ everything will be alright~ I'll make them pay for harming our sweetheart, Allen~"**

Before Sakura knew it, she was falling backwards into darkness.


	5. The Game Called Life

**Full Summery:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 5: The Game Called Life_

* * *

"If you think I'm just some stupid kid ruled by his emotions, then so be it... It's nonsense meant for those who don't know hatred. If anyone wants to deny my way of living, I'll kill everyone they've ever cared about! Maybe then, they'll feel a little of my hatred."

— Sasuke Uchiha

* * *

 **Previously:-**

 _'Hahahaha!'_

Their laughters echoed in her mind. Louder and louder. Poking fun at her. Taunting her.

Causing her to snap completely and go over the edge.

 _'I'll show them.'_ She growled. Forcing herself to get off her bed.

"I'll s-show them." She rasped out. Her eyes glinted with something sinister.

 _'I'll have my revenge-'_

"And it'll be so good~" the young cherry blossom let out an evil giggle. _'Don't you worry, Allen-kun~'_ she giggled again, a foreign feeling consuming her as she walked towards her desk. ' _I'll avenge you~'._

Someone else was going to have the last laugh.

 **Present time:-**

The living room was very quite and cold. Even Shu's weak attempt of a conversation and jokes couldn't lift a gloomy fog that came to hang over the team.

The three had no idea how long they stayed there in silence, but a few minutes after angering their pink haired charge, they were washed by a feeling of impending doom. The same feeling they get where their sensei decides to give them a unneeded test of humility.

In truth, it was just a chance for Akishige-sensei to come up with as many humiliating and mentally scarring 'tests' for his amusement.

Tsuki shivered. "I don't like this."

"It's too quite." Yona muttered, her eyes fixated on the pages before her, but her mind elsewhere.

"... I'll go check on Sakura-chan." Shu decided after a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"You do that." Tsuki mumbled, bored. Already planning to take a quick nap before their charge's guardian comes home. "Try making her happy while you're there. Wouldn't want an unhappy report on us and an angry sensei."

Shu frowned but said nothing. He walked lightly, making it so that he's easily detected by the young girl, while thinking of ways to comfort and talk to her.

 _'Yesh, maybe we took it too far?'_ He scratched the back of his head. _'No matter how cute she looked like mad, she still was pretty upset.'_ He recalled the image of her angry face.

 _'... She was crying...'_ He sighed. He decided it was probably for the best if he didn't mention what happened. He'll just act naturally and hope she does too-

"Eh?" Was all Shu managed to utter as he's leg caught on a trip wire. He managed to catch himself at the last second by grabbing the rails, but his relief was short lived.

 _Creeeeeeeek_.

Gulping, Shu looked up, only to be met by a falling bucket filled with ice cold water.

"Shi—"

CRASH.

THUD.

Before Shu could even act, the large bucked crashed roughly on his head, and its contents spilled out all over him.

 _'C-C-C-C-COLD!'_ He mentally shouted, too dazed to voice his complain and think how the hell a bucked filled to the brim with water ended up, up there? His only thoughts were of the cold and pain on his head as he lied there in shock at the middle of the stairs.

While trying to regain his bearing, he faintly heard the pitter patter of small feet rushing close to him, at the same time, he felt something tightening around his legs, and the sound of his teammate, Yona, calling his name from the distance.

"Shu? What was that, are you okay?" She called, slightly concerned, but not that much. There were many logical answers to what has caused that sound, so it was probably nothing.

Silence.

"Shu?" She tried again.

Nothing.

 _'Something reeks.'_ Yona closed her book as she stood up. She contemplated on taking out a weapon but decided against it for obvious reason. First, they were babysitting. What situation requires the use of deadly weapons? Second, Tsuki was still asleep. He might not seem like it, but he's the sensor of the team. Capable of sensing ninjas and civilians from quite a distance for someone as young like him. There was no reason for Yona to be paranoid and panic over nothing, so she decided to simply check on her older, yet childish teammate.

As Yona rounded the corner, she was surprised to see a pool of water and ice trailing down the staircase. It made her wonder what caused it.

She walked up the stairs, carefully avoiding the slippery substance, and swiftly walked to where she assumed her young charge's room was. Had Yona stayed to observe the strangely placed puddle, she would have noticed more drops of water falling from the ceiling, where a dazed, confused and frustrated Shu laid tied up and gagged.

Just as soon as Yona entered a bright pink room, her warning bells rang furiously. She turned sharply after sensing a presence from behind her, in the process of taking out a kunai, only to be startled by a force that was pushing her back. The force was someone much shorter than her, not an intruder as she expected, and what happened after that was all too fast for her to process.

Yona took a couple of steps back so not to fall on her behind. She then triggered a trip wire that proceeded to unleash hell upon her.

In mere seconds, Yona was drenched by something sticky, covered in glitter and feathers, and skating somehow towards Sakura's wide open window.

The moment Yona was able to process what happened, it was already too late and she was falling.

THUD.

Sakura stepped over her traps and carefully walked towards her window. She stared disinterestedly at the young girls feathery, sparkly unconscious form and proceeded to go to her final target.

She wasn't sure what to do with him, yet she was going to do SOMETHING alright.

As they say, wing it.

"Ahem!" Sakura whipped around to see Shu giving her _the look_. A look she has experienced many times before in her past life. One that read, 'I'm very disappointed in you, young lady.' and 'you're in for it now.'

That look was mostly given to her by her mother.

"And just what was that about?" Shu, still wet, spoke softly, yet his voice harsh and cut into her deeply. It was filled with anger, annoyance, disapproval, and disappointment.

 _'I expected better from you.'_ Was what the young child heard when listening to that tone. She suddenly was washed by the feeling of guilt, but then remembered what they did.

 _'No! Don't fall for their tricks! They're mean and just want to hurt you more!'_ She glared. Reaching into pockets for her scissors to cut a hidden wire to the side, but unfortunately for her, Shu wasn't a ninja for show, as he was instantly by her side, holding her scissors and frowning down at her.

 _Ba-bump._

 _'W-wait... W-what am I doing?'_

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat as she was hit by the reality of her standing in front of a Ninja. A real life, air bending, scientific defying ninja. And she was simple a small girl, basically an ant compared to him.

 _'I'm way over my head! How can someone like me do something to those super powered people?'_ She panicked. Sakura didn't know what to do. She finally used her past brain as a young woman, instead that of the spoiled child she acted as, and the realization of the situation she landed herself in frightened her.

 _'W-what am I—'_

 _ **"Relax~"**_

A whispered voice spoke directly into Sakura's ear. Soft, warm, and full of comfort. The whole world seemed to vanish in an instant at the presence of this peculiar voice. It dimmed her her focus on reality and made her lose her concentration.

 _ **"Sleep, and let me handle everything~ everything will be alright~ I'll make them pay for harming our sweetheart, Allen~"**_

Before Sakura knew it, she was falling backwards into darkness. Filled with a sense of comfort and taken away by the darkness.

* * *

"Really, now? Why would you do something like this!?" Shu lectured feverishly at a unresponsive Sakura who simply gazed at him wide wide frightened emerald green eyes. Her eyes got a glossy look to them, indicating that she was about to cry, which caused Shu's eyes to soften against his will.

"... Hey... Look..." He began uncomfortably. Unsure of how he should approach her.

Shu looked warily at the side for a second, but when he suddenly heard the sound of hurried feet running which quickly followed with the sound of a loud, and almost painful sounding thud, he whipped around to see the body of the pink haired girl sprawled onto the ground and curled tightly into herself. Almost as if in pain.

"Unhh~..." She whimpered pitifully.

"W-woah! Hey! S-Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Shu cried out in panic. Rushing towards her fallen form and gathered her into his arms.

"Let me see— GAH!"

As Shu grabbed Sakura, he was shocked to find himself suddenly sprayed in he face with whipped cream from God knows how and where.

He was barely given any time to gather his bearings before he heard the ominous sound of something being opened and he was wet once again, but is time with bubbling, sticky substance.

 _'What's going on?'_ Shu thought as all this was happening around him as he layer there in shock and confusion. He wasn't sure on how he should act. On one hand, he was being assaulted and humiliated by a young brat whom he should stop. On the other hand, this very child was his charge, and it's his mission to make sure the charge is satisfied, safe, unharmed in any way, and content. Meaning he can't just scream, reject, or do any harm towards her, else he failed his mission.

 _'What's going on!?'_ Shu screamed internally as he was hit repeatedly by a pillow and covered instantly in feathers.

"What... Just... Happened?" He questioned himself as he laid there dangerously close to his female teammate, Yona.

 _'Boy, you were just thrown out of a window by a five year old brat. Hahaha!'_ The obnoxious laughter of his sensei filled his mind as his brain finally managed to catch up with him.

Yona stirred as Shu laid there twitching in anger and humiliation.

* * *

"Haaaaaaaah~" Tsuki yawned loudly and stretched his arms as far up as he could.

"Brrrr!" He shivered, feeling cold all of the sudden.

"Hey guys. Am I the only whose feelin' cold, or..." Tsuki opened his eyes only to find himself alone. "... What?"

...

...

...

"Huh..." He shrugged and decided to continue his nap.

 _'They're probably in the bathroom, or somethin'.'_

The Genin closed his eyes and instantly began to drift.

 _Z_

 _Zz_

 _Zzz_

 _BOOM!_

"HOLY SHI—!"

Tsuki was woken by the sound of an explosion from outside the house.

"Wha— an invasion?" He cursed. Grabbing a kunai and rushing as quietly as possible towards the source of the abnormal sound. All the while, keeping his senses up for any signs of intruders.

 _'No one's inside the house... Yona and Shu on the other hand... Outside?'_ Tsuki became confused. Why were his teammates outside, yet their Chakra was controlled, or at least calmer than what would be considered appropriate for an invasion or an attack or whatever the hell was going on.

A mental image of the pink haired girl interned Tsuki's mind, causing him to tense up.

 _'Shot. Where's our charge? What was her name...? Sakura?'_ The young Genin felt conflicted. On one hand, it was his life mission as a Shinobi to protect and watch over his charge with his very life. On the other hand, those were his teammates out there. The same that he has trained with for the last three months. Should be at least check on them first, or go looking for the little five year old girl?

 _Creeeeeeek_.

"Who's there?" Tsuki shouted in slight panic. He was sure the sound of the floor board creaking was caused of someone.

All thoughts of his teammates and little girl was thrown out the window as Tsuki slowly advanced to the kitchen. Where he assumes the sound of movement came from.

"Hello?" His grip on his kunai tightened. Knuckles turning white.

 _Whooooosh~_

Tsuki looked up at the sudden sound, only to see a bucket heading straight towards his face.

It was a little too late for him to act and he was hit directly in the head.

 _BANG_.

* * *

"Heheh~" I couldn't help but giggle at the look on the Genin's —Tsuki, was it?— face.

It was hilarious!

Just as soon as he entered the kitchen, he idiotically managed to trigger a wire that went and dropped the bucket directly into his face.

And the idiot just sat there and took it!

He literally stood there with this dumbstruck look on his face looking DIRECTLY towards the bucket, and did absolutely NOTHING to stop it or dodge.

"Pffft." It was futile of me to try and stifle my laughter, but I know I had to. Else I'd be found out, and there'd be trouble.

Seriously, what kind of ninja falls for such simple and childish traps? And they call themselves Shinobi. Yeah right.

Besides... The shows not over yet.

The force of the bucked threw the dummy back, causing him to land painfully atop of a pile of —ouch. Where'd that came from? Even I don't know why we have that— Legos.

He gave a small —and adorable— squeak of pain and rolled to his side, where —would you look at that!— he crushed the 'cookies' under his body.

"GAH!"

Not even a second later, those supposed 'cookies' exploded into messy bits and pieces of chocolate. And by the end of that, our sweet boy was literally sweet and all chocolatey.

Yum.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"

Trying to stop my laughter were nearly impossible.

 _CLICK_.

And I didn't bother after he turned with the most cutest shocked and angry face after being blinded by the cameras flash.

"Y—you..." He trembled in rage.

"Hehehehe~ how adorable~" I coed mockingly at him.

After all, a girls gotta admire her own work of art~ and what a piece he came out to be!

"It's an improvement~" I sang happily and quickly sprinted away.

"GET BACK HERE YOU PINK HAIRED MENACE!" Tsu-Tsu shrieked loudly from waaaaay behind~

I don't care about him. I had other traps to worry about and I was too busy making my very first ever album.

I just know it's gonna be a fond one!

* * *

"Hah hah..." Tsuki panted. Completely breathless.

He was chasing that demonic child for quite a while, yet never once was he close to catching her and teaching a lesson.

And every time she'd somehow manage to stay out of his radar and trick him into setting off pranks after pranks.

"How *pant* is she doing *pant pant* this?" Shu bemoaned. Wiping his forehead with his sleeves.

Tsuki didn't know why Shu even bothered to try and wipe himself. The guy was completely covered with paint, glitter, and feathers. There wasn't even a single clean spot in his skin.

When Tsuki found his two teammates, they were laying down on the ground covered in feathers, many forms of sticky liquids, and glitter. They looked awful.

Now, they all looked like living, breathing disco balls.

Everytime they'd come near their charge, she would throw paint filled balloons at them. Covering them with more colorful paints.

"Not *pant* worth it." Yona panted.

Both Tsuki and Shu looked at her for barely a second before looking away quickly with a wince.

Yona defiantly was the unluckiest one out of all of them.

Apparently one of the balloons thrown at them contained acid, or something resembling that. Whatever it was, it seemed to do its job of melting something. And that something happened to be all of Yona's long luscious hair.

She lost it all.

She's bald now.

Not an attractive look at all.

Not that they would say that to her face. They valued their lives, thanks you very much.

"Hahaha! Catch me if you can!" They heard the distant yell of the child— NO! She was a DEMON!— and felt even more pissed at hearing her cheery laugh.

"THAT'S IT!" Yona roared in anger. Taking out a handful of senbon needles.

"COME OUT YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

"Woah! Woah! Yona calm dow—" Shu tried to hold his enraged teamate back. Feeling panicked about her mental health.

She was never like that! Yona was always someone who was quite, quick witted, sharp, and patient! Not this swearing, shrieking she-beast!

 **"Don't..."**

Gulp.

Shu sent Tsuki a pleading look, which Tsuki completely ignored. The look Tsuki sent Shu before turning away said in clear letters:

 _"You're on your own, bro. I value my life and wish to have babies one day!"_

 **"You DARE tell me to calm down."**

A sharp and deadly look was thrown towards Shu without any mercy.

"Okay!" He squeaked in a high pitch. Praying to any God out there to spare his life.

"I will **kill** her..."

The next minute was a blur.

The team somehow managed to corner their charge, with Yona using her weapons to slow the little girl down and stick her to the wall.

In the end, Sakura was held by the collar of her dress by Tsuki. Being glared at by the three Genin.

"You're in big trouble now." Tsuki sneered.

"Heh?" Sakura simply grinned wider at him. Feeling very satisfied at looking directly at her masterpiece.

Her smile angered Tsuki more, and seeing how angry he already was, it was no surprise at all that he too would eventually snap.

Before any one of them knew it. Tsuki's fist flew and landed directly at Sakura's cheek. Causing her head to snap painfully to the side thanks to the powerful blow.

At the same time, the front door opened, and Akio managed to see as the Genin team he assigned threw a fist towards his little FIVE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER.

"SAKURA!" Akio cried out the same time as Shu and Yona cried out at their teammate in horror, suddenly with the young girl's limp body in his arms.

"Sakura!" He shook her in panic, but she remained unresponsive.

Tsuki simply looked on in frozen horror, shock and guilt. Unable to comprehend what he's done without thought.

"Nnnnn..." She finally gave a whine of pain at his constant shaking and opened her large emerald eyes tiredly.

"Mou~ wha happened~?" She groaned. Looking around sluggishly and gave a large catlike yawn.

"Hi daddy." She greeted, smiling as she was rubbing her eyes, unaware of the incredible looks she was given by her beaten, tired and dirty babysitters.

Akio remained silent. He simply brushed his fingers delicately on his Sakura, his baby's fragile face. Watching as a bruise started to form.

"M-mister Haruno, we are s-so sorry about—" Shu began regretfully only to be cut off rather coldly by Akio's monotonous voice.

"Leave."

The three defeated Genin gulped in fear. They were unsure if they should leave quietly, or try to apologize, or what, yet their minds were quickly made up after they stared directly into Akio Haruno's steely eyes and they walked away with their heads down.

By now, Sakura has remembered everything that has happened; everything she has done. While she did feel horrified about her actions, she also couldn't control the feeling of amusement at the appearance of her three former babysitters.

All three of them were covered with pieces of food, paint, glitter, glue, feathers and many more. In addition, the girl's— whose name she forgot — hair was completely gone, making the previously beautiful girl look like a female version of Saitama(1), and that just made Sakura snort in laughter.

Another funny memory was their faces. Sakura recalled sneaking up on Tsuki so many times that he started walking around with his back on the wall and a paranoid look on his face. He looked too much like a cornered animal that Sakura couldn't help but tease him more by making him scream in fear at her sudden and random appearances.

Woah, who knew she had a sadistic side to her?

Don't get her started on Shu. That arrogant boy actually drew his own katana with so much confidence that it would be able to scare her into submission. Sakura wasn't expecting it at all. Shu seemed like a pretty easygoing guy, but apparently he was a pretty lazy and arrogant guy instead. He was so overconfident about himself, and _never_ expected anything to go in any other direction but his way to the point it made him a second favorite target after Tsuki.

He uncomfortably reminded her of Kizami from Corpse Party, to the point she was half expecting him to start screaming 'Run rabbit, run!' As he was chasing her.

Brings her shivers just thinking about it.

It was very hilarious for her to bring him down a peg or two.

"You must've had fun while I was out." Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by her dad's nonchalant tone of voice.

 _'Oops.'_ She realized that she may have accidentally laughed out loud.

"A-ano..." She tried to defend herself, but what was there to defend? How can she say she wasn't herself? How can she explain the strange feeling of being dragged so far away and out of control of her own body, to be an observer of someone else's actions? It was so bizarre. Feeling like you were in control, yet not. At the same time, she didn't really want to be in control. It made her wonder, was this how it felt to become insane? That was her only likely explanation of her actions. Actions of how a mentally fully grown woman would suddenly lose control of her composer and act unlike her mental age; insanity.

That, or being inside a child's body may actually affect her mentality as well. Maybe those childish urges are still present and waiting to take control of her depending on the severity of her emotions.

She could only theorize and guess, but a full answer was out of her grasp.

"Sa~ku~ra~~" Akio called out cheerfully, giving Sakura a bright closed eye smile that made her want to melt thanks to the brightness.

"You're grounded young lady~" he petted her head and pushed her toward the direction of the stairs. "Now, go to your room."

"..."

"EHHHH!?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Yeah, that surprisingly sucked. I'm feel so bad having given you guys this kind of content. It was supposed to be a bit funny, but it turned out... Meh.

I'm a bit disappointed in this chapter, and I'm sad to say I tried my best in it. I guess humor isn't really my forte *sigh*. The mood kept darkening way too fast.

With all that, I still hope you enjoyed this chapter with all it's flaws, and please review with ways for me to improve my writing so that I may one day write something decent for you lovely people ^^

Aaaaaaaaanywhooooo~ today I wanna try something a bit different~ so I won't be posting a sneak peek on the next chapter. Instead~

 **~~~~~~~~~~~OMAKE~~~~~~~~~~**

"Boooooooooored~ I'm so bored~." Sighed a peculiar creature that was currently flying over Konohagakure without a care in the world.

"Sometimes being a Shinigami sucks. Everything is the same in both the human and the other realm." The creature complained to himself. Looking down at the bustling streets where families and Shinobi alike carried on with their meaningless existence.

"And Light(2) won't even get me an apple. He knows I get withdrawal if I don't eat them after a certain time." The Shinigami's eyes flashed. "In addition to all that, the case of catching 'Kira' has taken away his memory for now, so I have nothing to do for quite a while but roam around." It was clear by now who exactly that creature was; the Shinigami Ryuk(3). Owner of the Death Note(4), and the one responsible for the multiple deaths in the human world thanks to his desire to be amused.

"Hmmm... Maybe I should have dropped my death note here." Ryuk contemplated. "With those overpowered bug-like 'Ninjas' all around, it feels like they would have made everything very interesting for me." He grinned in glee and cackled.

Just as Ryuk started laughing maniacally, he stopped and started coughing and flailing his arms around frantically.

"GAH! A FLY WENT INSIDE MY MOUTH!" He shrieked.

"Wait a sec... Nothing can see or touch me while I'm here." He recalled as he managed to calm himself down.

"Glad no one saw that." He sweat dropped. Embarrassed, but pleased that he was invisible when all that craziness happened.

As Ryuk was gathering himself together he happened to spot something that made him freeze in his tracks.

This thing— no, the people he spotted were someone he noticed before in his previous trip to Konoha where he dared himself to memorize every single person in the village and their lifespan for fun, but those three human before him were out of the ordinary.

 **Tsuki, 81 222 758.**

 **Shu, 86 324 759.**

 **Yona, 83 314 749.**

Their lifespan that was counting down to them having a little less than a year drastically changed to them living a rather long life for a Shinobi. Even civilians! Tsuki had sixty-two more years to live, while Yona had sixty-four more, and Shu having sixty-six years.

Ryuk remembered distinctly, their lifespan was engraved into his memory.

 **Tsuki, 1 012 840.**

 **Shu, 1 012 842.**

 **Yona, 1 013 141.**

Ryuk couldn't, for the life of him understand what caused such drastic change in this lifespan, and while all that was very strange and all, it wasn't what made him zero in on them seeing as they were traveling pretty far from any crowd. Obviously trying very hard to avoid running into people.

No, The thing that made him notice them was...

"BWAHAHAHAHA! DID THOSE HUMANS GET BARFED ON BY A RAINBOW!?" Ryuk doubled over and fell way down into the concrete floor below.

"A-AND WHY IS THE GIRL BALD!?" He cried. Tear streaming down his bulging eyes. "SHE-SHE LOOKS LIKE THE FEMALE VERSION OF IKKAKU(5)!" He started rolling around the ground, trying not to die even though Shinigami's can't die from laughter.

As Ryuk was busy laughing over the three humans who looked like they lost the fight with a clown, he lost control over what was keeping him intangible, which resulted in utter chaos in the leaf village.

"KYAAAA!"

"MOMMY!"

"WHAT IS _THAT_!?"

"CALL THE HOKAGE!"

The sound of a thousands birds chirping filled the air.

" _CHIDORI!"_

"AHAHAHAHA— huh?"

 _CRASH_!

* * *

 **We can all guess what happened there at the end~ ;D**

 **Now, for those who don't know:**

 **(1) C'mon, guys. Saitama! From One Punch Man! *insert theme song here***

 **(2) Light is the main character, also known as Kira from the Manga and Anime Death Note**

 **(3) Ryuk is the main Shinigami (God of Death) from the same Manga and Anime, Death Note.**

 **(4) The Death Note is a notebook where you write the name of a person, and that person dies in numerous ways, you choose the cause of death, but in case you don't write the cause of death, they automatically die of a heart attack.**

 **(5) Ikkaku is a character from the Anime series Bleach.**


	6. Play With Me, Now

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 6: Play With Me, Now._

* * *

"You can only become friends by talking to people and finding out whether you get along."

— Shougo Kiryuu.

* * *

The sounds of utensils were heard in the kitchen, where two people sat eating peacefully.

... Or as peaceful as it could get with a fuming pink haired five-year-old girl glaring adorable rubber daggers at her blissfully 'ignorant' father.

"Hah~~" the man sighed pleasantly as he set down his chopsticks and leaned back into his chair. "That was delicious~" he chirped happily, but sweat dropped after seeing the gloomy aura floating out of his daughter in waves.

 _'She's still upset over me grounding her?'_ Akio's lips twitched upwards. _'It's only been three hours of her grounding, but now that I think of it, today was the first ever time I punished Sakura for misbehavior.'_ Akio looked back. _'She was always very disciplined, and never got into any form of trouble. Today is the first time I've seen her act like an actual child.'_

Sakura glared harder at Akio after seeing him grin.

 _'She's so cuuuuuute~~~~'_ flowers bloomed and surrounded him as he gashed like a fangirl over his cute little cherry blossom.

 _'I'll kill him.'_

Sakura's dark aura was the complete contrast of Akio's cheerful, flowery one.

"So, Sakura-chan~?" Akio spoke after a few moments of silence.

Sakura hummed, which seemed as enough indication that she was listening to Akio.

"What do you think about becoming a ninja?" Sakura was caught completely off guard at her new dad's question. Out of everything he could have said, or asked, that was the furthest out of her mind.

Seeing Sakura's surprised and questioning look, Akio continued looking very relaxed about the suddenly deep question. "I mean, you're old enough to enter the academy, so I was wondering about what you have planned for your future." He looked at her with wise, old eyes.

"Before you've... 'Lost your memories', you wanted to become a Shinobi." He chuckled. "Certainly not for a noble cause, or anything like that. More like-" a certain Uchiha. "A childish reason, really."

"But now..." He stared hard into her eyes. Making her feel like he was looking directly into her soul. As if he _knew_ she was not who everyone thought she was. As if he _knew_ she was not his daughter.

"I was wondering if you still desire that future. The life of a Shinobi is no laughing matter. It isn't about doing 'fun' and 'cool' things. You are taught to take a person's life." Sakura's breath hitched.

 _'No... No, no, no, no.'_

"... Are you prepared for such a life?" He asked softly, but his words have enough weight to take her whole breath away and crush her chest.

 _'Please, no. No more. I can't... I can't...'_

"Sakura...?"

' _Please...'_

"... Stop." Sakura whimpered; frightened at the words coming out of her own father's mouth. How could he say that? Why would he say that to a five-year-old who doesn't even know what it means to hurt someone?

"... Gomen. I didn't mean to scare you." Akio sighed tiredly, scratching the back of his head. He seemed to age considerably before Sakura's own eyes.

"I was just... Worried... Sorry, Cherry Blossom."

"—fine. It's fine..." She breathed. Finally in control of her childish hormones. Yes, that's what she decided was the cause of her out of character actions. It was hormones, of course, no matter what anyone said.

 _'But...'_ She grew silent. Thinking deeply about what her new father said.

He was completely right. He said something that she was trying very hard to avoid thinking about from the moment she got here. A subject that deeply scared her, and one she hoped to stay far, far away from her thoughts.

Killing.

The life of a Shinobi... Is a cruel one. Even in times of peace. She could not ignore the fact that people in this world teach young innocent children to kill; to _murder_. Young kids are taught that killing is something like a... A _game_. It is something done for honor, but to Sara who has lived her whole life knowing that murder was never, ever justified, the fact that she now lives in a society that _encourages_ such behaviors horrified and baffled her. How can killing someone be something easily done? Once a life is gone, it can never come back.

As Sara was thinking about her future as a Shinobi, she thought about her killing someone. That very person who has a life, a future, family, loved ones waiting for their return, and she imagined just... Ending that person's life. Just like that with a snap of a finger. The very life that takes nine whole months to bring into this world, and that very same life that takes mere seconds to be taken away.

As she thought that, she realized how the world of anime is not all sunshine and rainbows as she wrongfully assumed it was, and seeing as she is one of a major role playing character had her trembling in terror.

"Hey..." A large hand was placed gently on Sakura's small head. She looked up directly into the eyes of Akio Haruno; her new father of this world, and felt grateful to him after seeing the gentle, comforting smile he directed towards her. An understanding smile that drained the tension out of her body and made her feel secure.

"A bit early, but you seem to need some rest. Especially after all that 'excitement' today."

True to his words, Sakura did suddenly feel exhausted and noticing her droopy eyes, Akio bend down to pick her up with ease, and carried her up to her room.

The short walk was spent in silence, but it didn't make it any less comfortable. Sakura was still thinking about her situation and future in a world, not her's, while Akio simply worried about his precious baby's future should she chose to pursue the ways of a Shinobi.

' _Only time will tell. I just need to be there and support her decisions like a good father.'_

"Alrighty then. Comfy~?" Akio asked, tucking his daughter in for the night.

Sakura gave a small nod. Gazing at him silently with her large brilliant eyes.

"Well..." Akio paused as he stood up, noticing the slight panic that entered Sakura's eyes.

"Wait... Um... Can you please stay...? At least until I fall asleep?" She requested timidly, looking away from him.

Akio smiled softly. "Of course." He sat back down on the edge of the bed and laid his large hand on her forehead, petting her head and watching as her eyes opened and closed lazily for a whole minute before finally closing, and remaining closed.

Akio kept petting Sakura's head contently for a few more minutes. Relishing in the feeling of comfort it brought him. He saw his angel's small mouth moving, so he leaned down closer to hear what she was mumbling out of curiosity.

Sakura always was a sleep talker, and Akio greatly enjoyed listening to her talk in her sleep seeing as she usually talks about cute bears, cottons, candy, and how much she loves Akio, so as he was waiting for words that would make him gush over his cute daughter and reassure him of her sleeping pleasantly, but his heart dropped as he heard something he never expected to hear coming out of his usually happy daughter.

"I don't want... To die..."

"..."

* * *

 _Tick. Tock. Tic. Tock. Tic. Tock._

Sakura could faintly hear the sounds of a clock ticking in the distance. Her mind was groggy as she slowly began to wake up, but she stubbornly refused to open her eyes. Sara honest to God never slept so well in what felt like _years_ , so to her, opening her eyes felt exactly like waking up from a pleasant dream into a harsh reality, and she really didn't want to leave behind the warm comforts of the bed.

The strangest thing was how warm the bed actually was. Sakura felt like she was being held by someone nicely warm as she slept. It felt odd seeing as before everything, while she was still known as Sara, she never married, nor has she been in any intimate relationship with someone, so the feeling of being held was foreign, yet it was also very nice. She snuggled closer to the warm source and sighed contently as she began to drift once more into the realm of dreams.

She _was_ , until the warmth holding her shook and chuckled.

Can a bed laugh?

"SHI— EEEEK!" Sakura jumped back screeching in freight, and nearly fell off the bed in her rush. Fortunately, an arm shot up and pulled her back into the embrace.

The adrenaline seeped out of Sakura's young body after she looked up into the now familiar and infuriating face of Akio Haruno, who was currently grinning down at her like an idiot. His cheeks were dusted pink in bliss at her reaction to waking up to him holding her.

She frowned deeply.

"Oh, come now~ no good morning to daddy~?" He cooed into her ear. Cuddling into her small body.

Her frown deepened as her face turned a cherry red color.

 _'Don't say anything to him. That's exactly what he wants! He wants to see me flustered and angry! No! I won't say a word! Nope, not a single word.'_

"Well, good morning to you," Akio's voice lowered into a deep rumble as he whispered into her ears. "My beautiful che~rry~ blo~ssom~"

Steam came out of Sakura's head as she cried up to the gods.

* * *

The sounds of utensils were heard in the kitchen, where two people sat eating peacefully.

... No, wait a second. Nothing about those two were peaceful in the least. Especially not with a fuming, flustered pink haired five-year-old girl glaring adorable rubber daggers at her father with dark flames coming off her body in waves, as her dad sat smiling sheepishly with a large anime sweatdrop falling down the side of his head.

"Aha ha." The father laughed weakly. Only adding more oil to the flames.

"So~..." He began weakly. Looking around desperately for a topic to talk about.

 _'Jeez, was Sakura always this quick to anger? What happened to my beautiful angel!? Is this a sign of puberty? Is my child rebelling against me!?'_ Akio cried mentally but suddenly froze up as if realizing something. _'Wait...'_ He looked up at his daughter as if seeing her for the first time. _'That frown, those dark waves, the way those eyes sharpened and the way her hair stands up like a cat as if they were made of blades... There's no doubt about it...'_ He gulped nervously. _'MY BABY TAKES FROM HER MOTHER!'_

Akio's eyes widened in fear. He looked down so Sakura couldn't read his expression. This was bad. This was very, very, _very_ bad.

Akio's whole body flared up in pain as he recalled the horrific memory of his strict, fearsome wife. She may just have been a normal civilian, but she was far more evil and horrifying than any Bijuu in Akio's opinion.

' _Could my dear have implanted her will into our daughter?'_ His gears started turning around furiously along with his eyes. Becoming dizzying swirls. He peaked up at Sakura, only to hold in his screech of fear at the sight of his late wife standing menacingly behind the flustered pink haired girl with the evilest of smiles on her face.

 _'AHHHHHH! HELP ME KAMI-SAMA!'_ Akio wept, holding his head in his hands.

Unknowingly to Akio, Sakura stopped fuming over waking up to her father's arms in the morning at the sight of that very same (SEDUCTIVE!) guy who was despairing (?) right across from her. Well... She thinks he was 'despairing'. She wasn't sure.

 _'He looks like he's in pain.'_ A bang of worry struck her heart. What was going on in this household? Sara has never been as stressed out until she woke up here, nor has she ever been so weirded out in all her life. The mood of everyone and everything was very disorienting, and she was unable to keep up with anything in a normal, logical way.

Especially this morning. Sakura's morning was the craziest one that Sara has ever had, E.V.E.R. Waking up to an attractive guy was bad enough for her heart, but when that very same guy starts whispering in a soft, yet deeply seductive— she swears up and down that it was seductive! —voice, she completely lost it. Not only was he holding her very affectionately, but she could feel his warm breath on her ears, and that feeling made shivers run up and down her whole body and cause her to explode. His actions felt very wrong to her seeing as she was a young single woman craving love and affection from the opposite sex, and while Akio's affection was something she always dreamed of, it was ruined— beyond ruined; annihilated! — by the fact he was related to her by _blood_. The fact that he greatly assisted in _conceiving_ her. The fact that he was her _father_.

Talk about a major turn off and disappointment.

Sakura really shouldn't be as affected by him as she is, but the Sara side of her is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing it benefiting her in this new world and the future. A curse seeing the present dilemma she found herself in.

 _'If only it was canon! If he was the canon dad of Sakura then I wouldn't be in this mess, to begin with!'_

Sweat was pouring down Akio's face as he looked up, only to see the soul of his lovely wife getting angrier. Mirroring her oblivious daughter's frustration.

 _'TASKETE!'_ As if God was finally having mercy on the frightened father, a memory of when his wife was still alive resurfaced. He recalled that whenever she was angry, he simply had to give her anything she wanted before the moment she got angry, and then will everything be fine and dandy between them, even if the thing she wanted wasn't the reason for her anger.

 _'I know what I must do.'_ Watching the soul of his angry wife draw closer to him filled him with DETERMINATION.

"Sakura." He kept his tone clear, hiding his fear. "You're no longer grounded. Let go to the park."

There. Quick. Clear. To the point. Exactly the thing to say to appease to his wife's soul. And truly after he said that, the dark aura that surrounded both his daughter and wife vanished into thin air. The soul of his beloved smiled at him one of her usual, beautiful smiles as she faded into white particles.

 _'I was nice seeing you, my love.'_ A tear ran down Akio's cheek and shone like glitter.

 _'May you rest in peace.'_ He closed in eyes in prayer.

 _'The hell just happened?'_ Sakura had a fully mastered WTF expression on her face. _'He's so **weird**!'_

 _'And what kind of parent says the next day of a child's grounding that they are forgiven!? And decides to take them to the park!?'_

"Come along." Akio moved quickly and gracefully as he took both their plates to the sink. "Wear your shoes, sweetheart. I'll be done in a sec." He called over his back.

Sakura unhurriedly got up from her seat. Keeping a cautious eye on her unpredictable father as she slowly edged towards the front door. She wasn't sure of her opinion on Akio Haruno yet. One minute he was so charming and charismatic, then the next he was childish. Let's not forget his flirtatious side — I swear to every lord he's flirting! His actions can't be taken as anything but flirting, and, or sexual harassment! And you better believe it! — in addition, he has this side that makes her fear and respect him. Like he was someone very important; someone dangerous.

 _'Just who are you Akio Haruno?'_

"Dooooone~" he came towards her spinning like a Beyblade and stopped directly in front of her. "Ready?" He noticed that she still didn't wear her shoes so he smoothly got down on his knees, and grabbed one of her small legs in his large hands.

Sakura's face turned into fifty shades of red at the embarrassment of her dad putting her shoes on for her.

 _'I'm not a baby, goddamn it!'_ She whined in her mind, throwing a tantrum like the baby she argued she wasn't.

She stepped away from him as soon as he finished and glared.

"I can tie my own shoelaces, okay?" She pouted. Akio blinked owlishly at her.

"Your shoes don't _have_ shoelaces, dear." Sakura flushed.

"Y—you know what I mean!" She flailed.

Akio hummed in understanding. "Anyways, let's go~" he opened the door and Sakura stepped out quickly so that he could close it behind him. She was very excited to go to the park because then she could actually see this new place that is her new country.

 _'Or is it village now?'_ She never had the time to clearly look at her surroundings, but now she would try to pay attention and maybe even memorize any place that she may find interesting to visit in the future.

"Woah~" Sakura breathed in awe at her surroundings. Everything was just so amazing to her. To think that she was actually in a world of fiction. The world she only knew of from books and shows. It was just too amazing and dreamlike, far more amazing than the show gave it credit. It was much bigger and had more stores than that were originally shown.

As her new dad led her to the park, Sakura would constantly spot some ninjas actually traveling by rooftops. It was an amazing experience to see people jumping so efficiently without any problem. They were so graceful and left her breathless by just watching them.

Much too soon for Sakura's liking, they got to their destination.

The park was relatively normal to any park Sara's seen before in her formal life. It was full of children playing happily or sitting around in groups and chatting.

All of the sudden, Sakura felt herself shrink. What now? What was she supposed to do? Should she go and play with the games left for the children, or maybe try to go talk with some of the kids?

The feeling of self-consciousness overwhelmed her mind and caused her body to freeze in terror.

 _'Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong?'_ She began talking to herself in panic; to her frozen body. _'Why am I so scared. C'mon I'm a fully grown woman who has babysat many kids in the past. They aren't gonna eat me or something! Just calm down, Sakura.'_ Sara began talking to herself but then decided a different approach. She decided to talk to the part of her that was Sakura. Trying to get her body moving and soothe the little girl living inside her that everything is going to be okay.

 _'There's absolutely nothing to be nervous about. We were all children once. Children need friends to have fun, and to make friends you need to sometimes take the first step into making them. You can't expect everyone to come to you out of pity, just smile like the child you are, no matter how scared you might be! Smile, be nice and charismatic, and make those friends.'_ Sara encouraged. Feeling her new body loosen up with each word. _'You shouldn't give up on anything. Try, and even when your first attempts fail, keep trying until you succeed. Only after that can you really say you tried, but it didn't work out. Don't give up without trying, Sakura!'_

Sakura took a deep breath to steel her nerves and opened her eyes once again.

Somehow, everything looked less scary.

' _Now, who should I go to play with?'_ She looked around contemplating.

 _'Well...'_ She began analyzing who would be the best to go to. She noticed young boys running around playing what appeared to be tag, but seeing as there were no girls playing with them, she assumed that they didn't like girls that much. _'The cootie stage, perhaps?'_ She decided she wouldn't take the risk. She continued looking around, but everyone had something that she 'logically' decided was a firm 'not yet'. Her only open — and quick — option was a group of girls that were sitting down next to a tree and talking. While Sakura deeply wanted to run around and have fun with the boys thanks to her jumpy body, Sara decided it was safer for her to started out small. Sara deduced it was better to sit down and talk to the girls. Girls liked talking about boys, dresses, and what they want to do when they're older, right?

Sara really wasn't too sure. She couldn't remember her childhood clearly, but it was worth a try to go talk to them. Besides, she was definitely unprepared to talk to boys casually. In her opinion, they were too barbaric and played too roughly. She wouldn't want Sakura's small body to get bruised thanks to her bad decision.

Sakura nodded to herself and walked with a purpose to the group of girls. She felt nervous but tried not to show it.

Unknown to Sakura, Akio was staring at her intently and curiously to see if his daughter will tell him to stay close to her, play with her away from the other kids, or even take her home out of fear. Sakura was always a timid girl who shied away from company. Too self-conscious about her looks, and afraid they'd tease and laugh at her. It was something Akio didn't comprehend, because Sakura was clearly the most beautiful little girl he's ever laid his eyes on, and he's not saying that because she's his daughter, he's saying that because it's a fact. No one else has such hair color, along with round, shiny diamond-like eyes, like her. She was very adorable, but she just doesn't see it, and the fact that envious people can be cruel, which led her to truly believe something was wrong with her.

Akio was surprised when he saw his baby girl looking at the kids as if she was contemplating on playing with them. He held his breath in anticipation, really hoping she would get over her fear of rejection and make some friends — hopefully, not a boy. — he wouldn't mind anyone, but he preferred it if it was someone who could understand her, like a girl.

So when Akio saw Sakura finally rest her eyes on a group of girls a bit away from them, he felt elated to see her approach them, but that did not cover the strong concern he felt for her. Whenever Akio takes Sakura to the park, he analyses each child to get an understanding of their personality. To see if anyone of them were compatible playing partners for his daughter. The girls Sakura was going to seemed like the least compatible for her. Sakura, even though she was shy, she was also a passionate girl. The moment you accept her, she would instantly get hyper and run around with you. She enjoyed running and jumping over sitting down and talking. The girls, on the other hand, they defiantly did not like getting themselves dirtied or doing much labor work.

 _'Maybe I should follow?'_ Akio bit his lips anxiously. _'I'll stay close enough where I could listen and show my support, yet not be too obvious and overbearing.'_ He swiftly went after his daughter, and after a quick look, he decided to relax next to a tree of his liking that gave him the perfect vantage point he required. He leaned back, closely observing his daughter's interaction with the girls.

He really hoped his worries were in vain.

Sakura, meanwhile, wasn't aware of her father's worried as she continued forward. Letting Sara take the lead. The moment she got close enough, the girls began to quiet down and observe her curiously.

"Uh... Hello!" Sakura greeted as cheerfully as she could.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I was—"

"You have pink hair." A girl cut her off, staring intently at her hair. Sakura felt a piece of her die. It took all of Sara's willpower to stop herself from shrinking down.

"Y—yeah..." She replied, subconsciously toying with a strand of her pink hair. "I was born with it." Her smile faltered as one of the girls stood up abruptly and rushed her.

Sakura tried not to flinch back as her hair was grabbed by the girl.

"Woah~! It's so _pink_!" The girl cheered.

 _'See! Everything is fine, they just like your hair.'_ Sara smiled. Happy at the turn of events. Their reaction to her was not negative, at least.

"Really?" Another girl stood up, and soon, Sakura was surrounded by the girls.

"It's _really_ , really pink!"

"It's soft~"

"Her eyes are huuuuge~!"

"So is her forehead." A new voice cut in as the other girls were gazing intently at her face. Sakura felt her body freeze up at the new comment.

 _'Uh—oh.'_ Both Sara and Akio thought at the same time.

"Ami!" The girls turned to see a young girl with short deep purple hair standing behind them.

"Look, Ami, her hair is pink!" The first girl exclaimed, pointing at Sakura.

Ami looked indifferent. She pouted angrily.

"Yeah, well, her forehead is still huge." She grumbled.

"Huh?" The girls now looked at Sakura, at her forehead. The same forehead she was known to hate deeply in canon.

Sara could feel her new body tremble as her throat constricted.

 _'No, don't cry!'_

Just as Sakura was waiting for the finger pointing and teasing, Akio suddenly came up and grabbed her shoulder.

"I don't—"

"It's not—" two girls spoke at the same time, but held back as they saw Akio.

"Okay, come along, Sakura. I'm sure you'd like to play with the games here~" he smiled down pleasantly at the girls causing them to flush than turned his eyes to Sakura, talking to her with his eyes.

 _'Are you okay?'_ His eyes said. But Sakura was obviously not.

' _Sakura's shaken up.'_ Sara tried to tell him, but he clearly saw that.

"Come on." He encouraged, lightly pushing Sakura towards the slides.

 _'I should have stayed with her.'_ Akio grumbled. _'But...'_ He cast a sideways glance at the girls.

"Uh! Bye pink–haired girlie!" A girl called out, waving.

"It's Sakura!" Another reprimanded. Then called out.

"Bye Sakura-chan!"

 _'I think Sakura just misunderstood the situation. The girls seemed to genuinely like her— well, they liked her hair more, but still...'_ His eyes landed on Ami. _'Jealousy is such a trivial thing. Even if she didn't mean to cause any harm whatsoever, Sakura simply takes everything to heart.'_ Akio sighed in vexation.

"Troublesome."

 _'How can I break that mindset of her's?'_

 _'I will never understand, Haruno Sakura. I cannot comprehend how minor teasing can cause you such emotional wreck.'_

Of course, there was no reply. Not that Sara was expecting one in the first place.

 _'This is just one emotional roller coaster after another. Just when everything seems fine and dandy, all sparkles and rainbow, it all goes downhill.'_ Sakura restrained herself from groaning out loud in annoyance. She didn't want to be questioned by her father.

 _'If he hadn't stepped in when he did...'_ Sara didn't want to think anymore. Logically speaking, those girls could have become friends with Sakura. Albeit not BEST friends, but friends nonetheless. Unfortunately, it became apparent that little Sakura was too sensitive for her own good. Taking playful teasing as bullying. It was too much for Sara to comprehend. Why? Is all she could ask.

Seeing as she wouldn't get an answer anytime soon, she decided to let her new dad lead to by the hand to the slides, and from there on he played with her to the point where she completely forgot about what conspired only a while ago. They played in the sandbox, hide and seek where Akio counted as she hid, and they even played tag where Akio let her win on multiple occasions.

It was... Fun.

Sara felt warm as she played silly games made for kids with Akio. The sensation was familiar, yet also foreign. Nevertheless, it was still very entertaining. Sara can't remember the last time she disregarded thinking and appearance, and just let loose and had fun.

It's been way too long.

At the moment, both Akio and Sakura were building sandcastles. Akio's kept falling over every time, causing him to cry in a hilarious manner at the unfairness, and causing Sakura to laugh till tears fell from her eyes. As they competed, Sakura was thinking about what they should play next.

 _'We haven't played on the swings yet.'_ Her mind supplied.

With that thought in mind, she began looking around for the swings, it was a little in the distance, but strangely enough nearly empty. From the distance, she noticed a blond boy sitting on one of the swings. He was the only one near the swings while the others gave a wide breather.

 _'Cool!'_

"Daddy!" Sakura turned her head towards her disheartened dad who was gazing dolefully at the scattered remains of his wonderful castle. He glanced up as soon as his name was called to see his cherry blossom gazing at him wide bright sparkly eyes while pointing vehemently behind her.

"I wanna play on the swings!" She declared intensely.

Akio followed the direction Sakura's pointing at with his eyes, only to pale slightly.

"..." He didn't know what to say. Looking at his daughter, Akio felt it impossible to refuse such a hopeful and happy face. It was always hard for him to refuse his daughter, no matter how peculiar her demands were. Especially seeing how full of life she is now, refusing will be the exact same thing as killing ten defenseless infants. The thought of her happy face falling into a sad frown was soul-destroying.

"...okay, dear." He answered languidly.

"Yaaaay~!" Sakura cheered, making everything feel a million times better.

They both stood up, and Akio gently patted his daughter down of any sand.

 _'Maybe I should start buying her pants instead of dresses?'_ He absentmindedly thought.

Sakura, being too impatient of her absentminded father, stealthily slipped away from him as he was still contemplating whatever he was contemplating, and she sprinted towards the direction of the swings. Her spring slowed down into a skip as she neared.

It was weird, she thought. The park was still full of children, yet not one of them was racing towards the swings. In addition, the moment Sakura first came to the park, she noticed the swings being dominated by various kids, and the line to play was pretty long, so why was it suddenly empty? Save for one boy sitting motionlessly on one of them.

The boy was kinda cute. Sakura's mind decided against her will.

He has spiky golden hair that shimmered as it was hit by the sunlight, and his skin was sun kissed. As Sakura got closer, she noticed other traits. While his eyes may have been poised downward, she could still see that they were blue in color, but the thing that made Sakura freeze in her tracks was three _very_ familiar identical markings on his cheeks that resembled whiskers.

 _'Oh, shit. It's **Naruto**!'_ Sakura's mind screeched to a halt.

Of everyone to run into, she just HAD to run into the main character of the very world she woke up in. Sakura didn't know what to do with herself. On one hand, a part of her said that he would make an excellent friend for her seeing as they become a team in the future, and he is really nice, even though he could be annoying too. Another, larger part of her was panicking. It was scared of seeing this young doleful looking boy only a few feet from her. It was all proof thrust into her face and flaunting her written future in bold letters to her.

Every memory of Sakura getting hurt, almost dying, witnessing people die i n front of her came reeling into her mind. Truthfully, Sara was scared about that future, she didn't want it to be her. She didn't want to experience such pain and suffering.

 _'I'll just turn around and leave as if nothing happened.'_ Sara decided. Unfortunately for her, her body refused to cooperate.

 _'Goddamn it, MOVE!'_ She tried to command it, but still, it showed resistance.

 _ **'Look at him.'**_ Something in her body seemed to tell her.

 _'I AM! What do you want me to see.'_

 _ **'Look at him!'**_ Sara's panic subsided as she decided to actually look, trying to figure out what has her body under a spell.

 _'... He's just sitting there without even bothering to swing.'_

 _ **'Doesn't he look so sad? Doesn't he look lonely?'**_

The more Sara stayed to look, the more her heart began to send her jolts of pain with each beat it gave. Nothing about the boy before showed signs of being the hyperactive knucklehead of canon. All she could see was a lonely, heartbroken boy. One she met before on her visit to Syria. One's she saw in pictures of sad, orphaned children. That fact simply tore her heart to shred.

 _ **'Are you really going to leave him like that? Turn your back to him like everyone else?'**_

Sakura tried to say that he'll be fine. Just like canon, he'll find friends and people who care about him, but the more she tried to think that, the more it tasted like something died in her mouth.

 _ **'And you always thought you'd make a great mother someday. How great of a mother would you be, if you can't even help a single child?'**_

As if agreeing with the voice, Sakura felt a hand gently push her forward. She looked back to see her dad giving her an encouraging look.

"You were excited about playing on the swings." He said after seeing her conflicted expression. Sakura didn't need to hear anymore as the tension evaporated out of her body. She could move now, she could leave if she pleased.

 _'But...'_ She gave another look at the depressed kid, and another at some parents she now noticed was leading each of their children away from the swings. They gave her a confused look which steeled her nerves and turned her head towards her destination.

The swings, and where apparently Naruto sat deep in thought.

As she moves with a purpose towards the blonde, she deliberately made noises to alert him of her presence, yet he didn't seem to notice her or was purposely ignoring her.

He looked up slowly just as soon as she was standing directly in front of him.

As soon as Sakura saw Naruto's head rise up, she gave a large and hopefully welcoming smile.

 _'Not too creepy having a complete stranger approach you with a large smile. I just hope I don't scare him away.'_

"Hi!" She chirped. "My name is Haruno Sakura! Would you like to play with me~?" Her hands were innocently behind her back as she rocked back and forth excitedly, a smile never wavering, not at the cautious look sent to her by Naruto, nor the way his eyes widened in absolute shock at her invitation.

It broke her heart to see such a careful expression on a little boy's face. Especially the startled look when she tried to greet him pleasantly. Seeing his reaction surprisingly didn't hurt her emotionally like before with the group of girl. Instead, she felt determined to push forward until he accepted her invitation to play. A large improvement to Sakura seeing as she never done something like this before.

"Play with me." Her smile widened as she gave the order. It was clear as day she wouldn't take 'No' for an answer.

"Huh?" Naruto uttered in surprise.

 _'My baby is growing up!'_ Akio cried behind a tree as he observed his daughter's interaction with the boy. Never before has he seen such fire come out of her.

 _'She looks like a Greek Goddess!'_ Pride swelled his chest as tried to stop his tears, which simply was a futile attempt.

* * *

 **A/N**

There we have it. Technically, it's still Friday where I'm at, so I didn't break my promise even though it did come up late. I didn't have time to post it earlier so sorry 'bout that.

Anyways, here an Omake~ I did it thinking about how funny it would be if someone were to witness the interaction between Sakura and Akio in their angry/happy moment, in the kitchen XD

Enjoy~

* * *

 **OMAKE**

A knock was heard as Akio and Sakura are in their happy/murderous moment respectfully.

"It's open. Do come in~!" Akio cheerfully called, never taking his wide eyes from Sakura's flustered face.

Not even as the Hokage himself entered.

"Good morning Akio, my dear friend." The Kage finally spoke after a moment of observing the bizarre situation he found himself in.

"Hello, old friend! Ain't my baby just the cutest thing~!" Akio gushes, giving his leader a quick respectful nod and quickly went back to observe Sakura in a manner that is indignant to those who didn't know him personally, nor those who knew him outside of a mission. Akio literally turned into jelly and flopped his body around with hearts flying around him. Looking like a wet noodle.

Sakura simply kept glaring at her dork of a father as the Hokage looked on a with large sweat drop falling down his head. Sakura didn't even care, nor comprehend the fact that the _Hokage_ ; leader of the freakin' village was standing only a few feet away from her. Her complete fully focused attention was on her Sanji-like version of a father.

 _'Interesting family.'_

"... I believe... So?" Sarutobi decided to play it safe and agreed wearily. Careful about upsetting his old friend. The Lord knows how besotted Akio is over his daughter.

"... Is this a bad time? I could come some other time." He offered. Too eager to leave.

 **"No."** Akio suddenly growled just as the Kage was inching towards the door.

Hiruzen froze. His blood ran cold at the tone of voice of his old friend.

 **"You will sit down and marvel at the beauty that is my cherry blossom."** He commanded. Leaving no room for debate, and throwing a steely, demonic look at the frozen Hokage.

Hiruzen tried to signal for his ANBU's assistance, yet no one dared to interfere, nor help him in any way. Too afraid of this strange side of Akio.

And so they sent an apologetic look towards their Kage and body flickered away. Pretending they didn't see him begging and mouthing threats towards them should they abandon him.

 **"Come. Join us, old friend~"** Akio laughed cheerfully.

 _'Old friend, my ass.'_ Sarutobi Hiruzen glared and he sat down slowly. _'We are now former friends, you devil.'_

That was the last time Hiruzen ever visited Akio while in the presence of one Haruno Sakura.

Sakura simply remained oblivious, and never could understand why the Hokage was nervous and unwilling to stay in the same room as her even after many years. No one bothered to explain to her.


	7. My New Playmate

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 7: My New Playmate._

* * *

 _'Did I do somethin' wrong? Why does everyone hate me_ _? Why does everyone hate me? Why won't anyone play with me? Why do parents always stare at me with mean looks?'_ Naruto's mind was running around in circles, asking question after question.

Those questions were the same one's he always asks himself day by day, but no matter how hard he tries, no matter how much he begs and pleads he could never find an answer to those haunting questions.

 _'Old man_ _Hokage said I did nothin' wrong.'_ His shoulders sacked. _'But why does it look like he's lyin'? Did I really do somethin' that made people not like me? Maybe I just don' remember what I did. Maybe that's why no one wants to play with me. Maybe that's why no one likes me. Maybe—'_ he kept thinking and thinking negatively. His brain began to hurt, the heart he felt that couldn't get any heavier than it already was, but it did, proving him wrong.

Hiruzen always told Naruto to not think negatively of himself. However, Naruto just couldn't stop it seeing as everywhere he went, and everyone who he saw gazed at him with those dark eyes reminded him of the pain. They would whisper hurtful words about him. Words that he would unfortunately hear, and they were words that he was beginning to believe is the truth.

Naruto could hear light footsteps close to him, but he ignored them. No one ever bothered to talk to him. Whoever this was would just walk past him without a single word. They wouldn't be the first.

Therefore, he continued on pondering.

 _'Maybe... They're right._ _I am a 'demon' I am a 'monster' I am—'_ his thoughts faltered and Naruto's heart skipped a beat as a shadow fell over him suddenly.

 _'Who...?'_ He looked up slowly, deeply fearful of seeing an adult. They were always the meanest.

To his relief, it was only a little girl the same age as him.

 _'A pretty one.'_ He subconsciously thought, but quickly vanished the thought. Even pretty girls were mean to him.

She smiled widely. It was so contagious that it almost made Naruto smile back to her, but he managed to hold himself back. Bad memories of people pretending to be nice to him, but only wounding him stopped Naruto from showing any sign of hope. It scared him to think of what a pretty girl like her wanted from him, or what she would say. She really looked genuinely nice, but Naruto learned through trial and error that looks can be deceiving.

"Hi!" Naruto physically jumped at her chipper tone of voice. Not expecting a greeting in the least.

"My name is Haruno Sakura!—"

Sakura? Like the cherry blossoms? It suited her.

"—would you like to play with me~?" Naruto's brain stopped functioning after the question left the stranger's mouth. Did he hear what he thinks he heard? Was the pretty girl— Sakura — really asking _him_ of all people to play with her?

 _'I-is this_ _r-real? Am I d-dreaming?'_ Naruto gazed in shock at Sakura as she rocked back and forth. Her hands clasped behind her. She never once broke eye contact. Showing complete sincerity and acceptance, something that Naruto rarely sees directed at him.

 _'Does_ _she... Really want me?'_ Naruto didn't know what to say. How should he react? This has never happened to him. Only once where a kid invited him to play but was quickly taken away by their parent. Could he really play with the girl? Is it allowed for someone like him to play with such a nice and pretty girl? No one has ever allowed him such pleasures.

Naruto must have been silent for too long, for Sakura's posture corrected itself and she gazed intently and directly into his eyes with determination. Her eyes burned so brightly it made Naruto's look nearly dead.

"Play with me." She ordered. The wind blew gently, playing with their hair and clothes as she gave her command. In Naruto's eyes, she was like a dream. A pleasant dream which he didn't ever want to wake up from.

 _'Wait!'_ It was then that her exact words registered into his mind.

 _'I don' have a choice!?'_

"Huh?" Was all his dumbfounded brain could formulate into a voiced sentence.

"Well? Play with me!" Sakura repeated impatiently. She grabbed his hand and began tugging on it, urging him forward.

Naruto froze the moment her hand made contact with his skin.

He expected her touch to hurt him but was surprised at the warmth of it. He wanted to run away, no matter how much he wanted to accept her invitation. Running seemed like the most reasonable option in this bizarre situation, but her bright eyes froze him into his place and made him say the words he dreaded most, and those she hoped to hear.

"O-okay..." He squeaked timidly.

 _'Oh no!'_ He trembled as she stared at him in slight surprise.

 _'She's_ _gonna to take it back! It was a mistake! She doesn' wanna to play with me! Now she'll say—'_

"Great~!" Sakura gave a full blown grin. Flowers blooming behind her.

"G-great...?" He murmured in confusion. Eyes wide with hope and her voice repeating over and over again in his head.

"Great! Cool! Wonderful! Extraordinary! Splendid! _Perfect_!" She danced around him, causing him to flush. He didn't understand half of what she, but something told him they were nice things. Very nice things.

"R-really!?"

"Un!" She nodded vigorously. Still holding his hand.

"What do you wanna play?" She questioned.

"Oh... I dunno. W-what d'ya wanna do?" He asked her. Just happy that he had someone who was willing to play with him. He didn't want to choose what they do and cause the nice girl to get bored and leave him.

"Anythin' Ya want, I'll do!" He declared boldly. Too eager to please his hopefully new friend.

 _'Friend.'_ He really, _really_ wanted a friend.

Sakura stared in silence at Naruto. That was a very bold statement he issued. It made her realize just _how_ bad his childhood was. How bad it currently is.

 _'Please_ _be my friend.'_ His eyes seemed to beg her. Hiding fear beneath the hope of friendship.

"Hey, now! There's no need for that~" she waved her hands dismissively. "Let's play games that we both like, key~?" Seeing the confused look on Naruto's face, she tilted her head to the side in thought.

"How about this?" Sakura let go of Naruto's hand and clapped her small hands together. "I'll choose our first game to play, Kay~? Then you choose what we play next. Deal?" She brought her hands forward for a handshake.

Naruto flinched back when he saw her hand come closer to him, but was surprised to see her do nothing but leave her hand extended towards him.

 _'What's that? What should I do?'_ He questioned himself. _'Should I do the same? Is it somethin' that friends do?'_

"It's a handshake," Sakura explained. Slightly flustered at seeing the confused look on his face. "You take my hand, and then we shake on the deal. Meaning we both agree to what I just said." She tried to explain quickly and in an easy to understand manner. Too anxious to begin playing.

 _'C'mon~!_ _I really wanna play on the swings~!'_ Sakura whined.

"Oh..." Naruto's mouth turned into an 'O' as his face gained color. He saw some people do that, but he never understood the meaning. Additionally, he felt startled that someone, especially a _girl_ wanted to actually make skin contact with him.

 _'A girl_ _wants to hold our hand!'_ His mind screamed in warning.

Naruto looked at Sakura's extended hand and slowly lifted his own. As soon as his fingers brushed against hers, electricity shocked him, causing him to want to pull away, but Sakura, having expected that, quickly grabbed his retreating arm and firmly shook it.

"There~!" She smirked in satisfaction. "Now we do what we shook on. We made a deal~ and it can't~ be~ broken~" she sang. Too pleased with herself to see how pale Naruto's face became.

 _'She tricked me!_ _Was that a servant curse? Am I her slave now, for all my life!'_ Naruto wept in sorrow. He felt betrayed over Sakura's happiness at shaking his hand and seeing how he got shocked as soon as he touched her hand, and how pleased she was, his small mind concluded that the handshake was soon sort of ritual where he now devoted himself to the pink haired girl as her servant.

Don't ask how he concluded that.

"Now~!" Naruto tensed up in preparation to her first command.

"I wanna play on the swings~ how about you sit down first," a dainty hand was pointed towards the swing Naruto was previously sitting on. "And I push you~" Naruto gulped and quickly nodded.

As Naruto sat down on the swing, he gripped hard, prepared to be pushed so hard and high he flew. In contrast to what he assumed, he felt Sakura's hand gently push at his back, and he slowly moved forward.

Naruto assumed maybe she wanted to start out small, where she slowly started pushing harder, and true he noticed how much higher he was going, but she never once pushed him hard at the back, nor did he go too high up where it felt like he would fall. After a while, the fear Naruto had towards Sakura slowly dispatched, leaving him only laughing as he enjoyed the feeling of Sakura pushing at his back. He enjoyed the gentle contact of her small hands on his back. It never once hurt, which brought him warmth as a very nice, warm feeling began blooming in his chest.

"My turn~!" Sakura called out as she raced towards a swing that was next to Naruto.

Naruto felt panic grab his heart as he didn't feel Sakura's hands at his back.

"W-wait," he stuttered. "How do I s-stop?" He tried kicking his legs, but that only resulted in his losing his balance and almost falling.

"Don't stop!" Sakura called out to him. "Do what I do, and everything is going to be fine!"

Naruto saw the way the Sakura pulled her legs back as she descended, and extended it as soon as she was going forward. He copied her and was awed to see himself slowly going back to the way he was when Sakura was pushing him.

"I-I'm doing it!" He cheered happily. Repeating the process and thanking Sakura.

"Yeah! Way to go, Naruto~!" Sakura cheered him on.

They continued swinging happily. Competing against each other. After what seemed like an eternity of fun, they both slowed to a stop, still giggling here and there.

"That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Un!" Naruto grinned his signature grin, making one bloom on Sakura's face, as well.

"So, what do you wanna do now?" She questioned curiously. Not yet tired, nor was she ready to end their playtime.

"Uh... I don't know...?" Naruto frowned in thought. His cheeks puffing out, resembling a chipmunk.

 _'So cute.'_ Sakura smiled. She noticed Naruto's eyes drift towards a couple of boys who were running around, chasing each other, and pointed.

"How about that?"

"Playin' Ninja?"

"Yeah!" She nodded vigorously. "I saw you eyeing them with a look in your eyes."

Naruto blushed and averted his eyes.

"It's a really fun game." He muttered. "I played it a bit before the mom and dad of the kids took them away. It was really fun."

"Hmm..." Sakura couldn't help it. Her heart went out to the adorable golden-haired angel. In her eyes, he was just an angel. So pure and innocent. Not showing a hint of contempt towards the parents. All his expression told was sadness towards the rejection, and happiness at the short amount of time he managed to play with kids his age.

She took a step towards him and gently held his hands with both hers. Maintaining eye contact.

"How do you play?" She asked him. Determined to make him play with her that game, and make his time with her the happiest and most memorable one. A child deserves to be happy. Laughing, jumping around, running, and just plainly having the best time of their lives.

 _'You're_ _only a child once.'_

"Huh? You don' know?" Naruto's eyes widened.

"Nope. So teach me! I wanna play this cool game with you." She grinned. Showing sincerity only.

Naruto's eyes and whole face lit up like a Christmas tree. The radiance of his blinding Sakura.

Only five minutes later, Sakura was seen running away like the devil was on her heels, with Naruto chasing after her, trying to grab her.

While to outsiders, that may look like the 'demon child' was chasing after a 'sweet and innocent' little girl, and they would have interfered to 'save' the 'poor' girl, had it not been for Akio giving them a look from nearby, and the way both children were laughing and screeching contently. It was plain as day that they were having fun playing together.

Naruto and Sakura played various games after that. They played on the sand, the slides, the 'jumbo jungle', which was designed to resemble a jungle, where they had to literally act like monkeys to move around, it was pretty fun. They played tag, hide and seek (in which they included Akio after the while.), and finally, seeing how much they both enjoyed playing 'Ninja', Sakura decided to play it once more, for Naruto's sake.

By the time they finished playing, the sun was going down, and both Naruto and Sakura were beyond exhausted.

"That *pant* was *pant* fun." Naruto managed to say through his hard breathing. A wide smile on his face.

"Yeah *pant* it was *pant*" Sakura agreed.

Akio simply stood over both kids with an amused look on his face.

"Down yet?" He asked for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last few hours.

"Y-ye—ah." Sakura's voice cracked.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Akio leaned down, expressing concern over his delicate angel. The same time as Naruto pushed himself to his knees to watch his new friend's face, wearing an equal expression on his dirty face.

"Sakura-chan..." He said softly, feeling guilty about making her run around after him all day long.

 _'Girls_ _are 'delicate creatures' Jiji once said. It means they aren't like boys who run around all day.'_ Naruto frowned. His little brain trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Why was she so tired? She was much more tired than he seemed to be, and Naruto felt like he could still keep going if he wanted to.

 _'Did_ _I force her to do somethin' she didn't wanna do? Is she now sick because of me?'_

"I-I'm fine, it was from laughing too hard," Sakura spoke up, trying to make her voice come out strong. She looked directly into Naruto's eyes, noticing how glossy they looked, and smiled happily.

"I had fun." She panted. "Thanks for a great day!" She waved as she was picked up by her dad. She did not fight back, for she couldn't even support herself with her legs. They felt too much like jelly.

"C'mon, let's take you back home, my little ninja~" Akio cooed. Gently rubbing Sakura's back in soothing circles, making her feel relaxed and sleepy.

"Bye, Naruto~" Sakura yawned, waving languidly towards a frantic Naruto with droopy eyes.

Naruto wanted to say too much. Too much that it seemed like it would take forever to say.

 _'Are you really fine?'_

 _'Did you really enjoy playin' with me?'_

 _'Will you come again tomorrow?'_

 _'Can we play again sometime?'_

 _'Are we friends now, or...?'_

 _'Can I talk about you to Jiji?'_

 _'Can I at least walk with you home?'_

 _'... Will I ever see you again after this?'_

"A-ah! Bye, Sakura-chan!" He waved viciously. Wanting to show the nice girl who played for hours with him that he really appreciated everything she has done for him.

As soon as Naruto couldn't see her anymore, he dropped his hands and looked around at the park. The same park where everywhere he looked, he saw himself, along with the cherry blossom colored pretty girl played. He saw them laughing and running around having the fun of the century, along with her dad.

At first, when Akio approached them, and Sakura called him 'Dad', Naruto felt very afraid of the kind girl's father taking her away from him, but surprisingly, her dad simply smiled nicely at him and asked if he could join them.

Naruto never before has felt so accepted in his whole life. It was the greatest feeling in the whole world, and he felt with certainty that he will treasure this feeling in his chest forever.

 _'Maybe_ _it's better for you if I don' mention you to people. I'm scared that people will start treatin' you like they treat me... Bye bye, Sakura-chan. You made me feel like the happiest ninja in the whole world.'_ He gave a doleful smile towards the swings. The place where they met, and the first ever game they played together.

"... I'll miss you..."

 _'And I'll never, ever forget about you...'_

* * *

Back at their home, Akio took Sakura to the shower and offered to wash her. Sakura was about to agree, seeing how tired she currently was, but it was then that her brain caught up to her, that she refused him, and jumped down from his arms.

Presently, Sakura was running the water, trying to get the temperature right as Akio was in the kitchen cooking something light to eat while crying waterfalls at the rejection.

They all had eaten at the park, where Akio has brought drinks, sandwiches and a couple of Dangos with him. It was Sara's first time eating the well-known treat named 'Dango', and she has to say that it tasted fairly good. It was not the best thing she has ever tasted, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

 _'Feels good.'_ Sakura nodded to herself and satisfaction, then stripped herself of her of her dirtied clothes, and threw her dirtied clothes to the bin. She added rose scented liquid to her water and eagerly stepped down in. As soon as her body was fully submerged, Sakura let out a moan of relief, feeling her muscles relax completely.

"Haaaaah~" she sighed in pleasure. Her eyes were closed as she lost herself into the sensation.

She thought about her day. How it started out a bit peculiar, yet slowly got better.

She recalled the group of girls she approached the moment she got to the park and consequently remembered Ami.

After laying back and thinking about that scenario, Sakura deduced that while the group of girls may not be the type who were good for playing around the types of games she now realized she enjoyed, they _did_ seem a bit pleasant to talk to in a subject known as 'gossip'. It would have kept her up to date on the recent happenings for the future.

The girls seemed taken by her, thanks to her rare color of hair. When Ami came, she seemed pretty envious at the attention given to Sakura. An emotion Sara was familiar with and knew all too well.

All in all, it appeared like they meant Sakura no physical harm whatsoever, and they seemed like good friends to have for the future. Unfortunately, Sakura is too emotional to take their teasing, and she instantly assumed they disliked her and thought she was unattractive.

 _'Complete_ _illogical thinking.'_ Sara sighed. Too tired of the peculiar thoughts of a five-year-old, timid little girl. _She_ never recalled herself being this complicated.

 _'This_ _is going to be very aggravating in forthcoming developments.'_ She grumbled _. 'Optimistically, I'll be able to shatter that impractical notion out of Sakura before anything major transpires.'_

Sakura closed her eyes, and behind her eyelids, she saw a memorable beaming face gazing at her with happiness.

 _'He is_ _is absolutely delightful.'_ She smiled to herself. ' _So innocent and true to himself.'_ She appreciated that. The child was too cautious in the beginning to an extent where it startled Sara. It made her feel uncomfortable as if she was dealing with an adult in the body of a child, or maybe a wounded animal would be a better description? Either way, after playing around a bit with him, his whole persona gradually changed into one that essentially resembled those of a child. He was smiling so gorgeously, laughing so wonderfully, and running around so with so much vitality it warmed her core.

Safe to say that both Sakura and Sara had an equal amount of fun playing around with the Naruto. It was, without a doubt, the most fun they have both had.

 _'I wanna_ _do it again.'_ Sakura blew bubbles from under the water. Her face half submerged, leaving only her large eyes and nose out.

The heat of the water was making Sakura sleepy. Already, her body fell under the spell of sleep, while her mind was replaying the day's event, and how her actions might affect the role of the story.

 _'I genuinely_ _hope my actions do not affect anything major.'_

 _'So sleepy~'_

 _Knock knock._

Light knocking, followed by a voice spoke only a few minutes after Sakura drifted to sleep came from behind the bathroom door.

"Sakura, sweetheart. Are you finished? Do you need help~?" Akio asked, poking his head in.

Sakura shot up in an upright position. Her eyes were wide and wild as she forced herself to function properly. Ignoring the way her eyelids protested, begging too close and take her back into the land of sleep. She turned to look at her dad just as he began talking again.

"Sa—" he paused. Gazing at the guilty and panicked look on his delicate daughter's now clean face.

"Were you sleeping?" He questioned teasingly. Visibly amused. "How adorable~"

"N-no..." Sakura denied feebly, aware that she was caught.

Akio looked like he was going to finish the job for her of cleaning and dressing up, and seeing this, Sakura raised her arms in a 'stop' motion. Calling out, "w-wait a sec! I'm almost finished! Please, there's no need to come any closer!"

 _'Get_ _out!'_ Was the message Akio got from Sakura. He sighed in defeat, ignoring the slight hurt he felt.

"Okay..." Sakura's shoulders relaxed. "You have five minutes. After that..." He smirked as Sakura paled. Understanding his not so hidden meaning.

"Okay." She squeaked, nodding so fast it looked like her head will fall off.

Akio turned his back to Sakura and began walking away.

"I'll check on the food and begin serving us. Your time starts... Now." He called back, and Sakura quickly unplugged the tub and rushed to scrub her body and apply shampoo to her short locks. While she was doing that, that water lowered down and she turned on the shower head to clean herself of the soup.

Sakura jumped out of the bathtub after making sure her body was free of soap and shampoo and wrapped a towel around her small body while grabbing another to dry her hair. She began the process of drying herself while keeping a watchful eye on the entrance in case her time was up and her new dad decided it was a good chance to jump scare her.

As Sakura was finished with wearing her undergarments, she saw her dad coming through the closet.

 _'Maybe_ _it would have been wiser for me to have secured the bathroom door. I would have certainly heard him approaching, instead of watching the entrance like a creep.'_ Sara sweat-dropped. Mentally slapping herself at her stupidity.

"Huh," Akio uttered in surprise as he laid eyes on her. "You actually finished?"

Sara snorted. He was counting on her not being able to finish in five minutes.

 _'Showed him.'_ Sakura swelled up in pride, while Sara frowned.

 _'Pervert.'_ She snarled.

 _'Hey,_ _Wait a sec! Daddy's not a Hentai!'_ A part of her brain that was Sakura argued back. Offended at the young women's thoughts.

"You clean up well. I'm impressed." Akio smiled at Sakura. His eyes showing complete sincerity and pride.

Sara's frown disappeared after seeing such an innocent look on the man's face. She couldn't see anything that hinted to him being perverse. Only honesty and pride, those of both a mother and a father. It really made him seem more real to her. Not just a fictional character that happens to play the role of her parent until she got old enough to take care of herself, but an actual only father who raised and loved her. And his love was shown without shame in his eyes.

Sara flushed in shame. Agreeing to the other side that was nodding, very approving of Sara's clarity.

"Awww~ and I was really looking forward to cleaning you~" Akio complained. "It feels like it's been too long since we've bonded like that." His eyes became unclear, as he was looking distantly into the past. "Good times." He sighed. "Good times."

Sakura tried to stifle her laughter, but some managed to escape her. Her giggles seemed to snap Akio out of whatever he was on, and he turned back to her.

"Well," he eyed her critically. Looking for any signs of dirt. "At least I'll dress you. Although I prefer dressing you up in cute dresses. Buuuuut~ I don't think wearing a dress to bed is a good thing, right~?" He winked.

"Dressing me!?" Hearing the Affronted tone in Sakura's face made Akio's expression fall.

"May I? Pleeeeeeaaase~?" He gave her such a heartbreaking expression where his eyes became extra large and shiny, and his lips popped out into a pout.

'No', was at the tip of Sakura's tongue, but the more Sakura saw Akio's face, the more she felt her willpower shake.

"Pretty please, cherry blossom~?" Gorgeous flowers bloomed behind Akio's back. Giving his beautiful complexion. Sakura's willpower crumbled into dust and flew away.

"Okay..." Came out of a beaten Sakura. She knows she lost this round.

 _'Damn it_ _all!'_ She half-heartedly cursed. Not too upset after seeing such an exuberant look enter Akio's face. He was genuinely happy about dressing her up, and that confused her, but who was she to judge?

Being dressed up was actually not so bad. It felt very nice if she was being honest with herself. Sara never was pampered by anyone in her life, and being treated like a princess who'd break at the tiniest push didn't piss her off like she had assumed it would. Instead, it made her feel loved and appreciated, and really, she might get used to that.

She was dressed in a one piece pajama dress. It wasn't like Sakura's puffy and layered dresses. It was lost and fell down around her like waves. It was light creamy pink in color and made of actual silk. The thing she liked about it the most was how very comfortable she felt, and how light the material was to the point she felt like she was walking around nude. Sara noticed that all her clothes were of fine material. It was nice, but it proved to her how her new dad spoils Sakura.

 _'The_ _life of a royalty. I wouldn't be surprised if this is how they're wardrobe looks like.'_

Akio gently brushed her hair, splitting her hair in half and began braiding her hair. After that, he tied the end with ribbons.

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror and liked the way she looked. Her hair looked so neat, and she was so well put together in appearance and personally comfortable.

 _'I_ _look good and feel good.'_ She smiled at Akio in thanks. To awed to speak.

"You look simply breathtaking, sweetie." Akio smiled softly. Gazing at her with adoring eyes.

 _'What_ _did I do to deserve such a beautiful and smart baby like you?'_ He breathed. He was sure he will never get used to Sakura's radiance. She was his treasure; his everything.

"T-thank you." Sakura blushed, looking down bashfully.

It was then that her stomach made itself known by giving an impatient groan.

Akio snickered as Sakura covered her stomach; mortified at the sound it made. She didn't even feel _that_ hungry, and her stomach has _never_ before growled so loudly whenever she went to school or work without eating a thing.

 _'Is_ _this how it'll be now!? Screw you, anime logic!'_ Thinking of future scenarios where she may find herself in places that didn't provide food, _or_ she forgot to eat filled her with dread.

 _'The humiliation.'_

"Come." He grabbed her small hand into his much larger one. "I made us soup. You'll like it."

True to his words, she loved it. Everything that was given to her by Akio's hands was absolutely delicious and palatable.

"mmm~ so good~" Sakura hummed contently.

"I'm glad you like it." Akio relaxed. Sakura wasn't even aware that he was tense. She wasn't aware that that her opinion mattered that much to Akio. The thought that he cared that much about her opinion filled her with warmth, and it wasn't because of the soup no matter how much she tried to convince herself.

They both ate in comfortable silence after that. Sakura was too tired to start a conversation and too engrossed into enjoying her soup, and Akio was simply content with eating with his baby girl whom appeared to be enjoying his cooking. It was always something he worried about. The thought of his little angel not liking what he made her perturbed him. He wanted her to eat things that were both appetizing and nutritious. He wanted his daughter to be delighted with what she ate, he wanted to change her day, whenever she felt glum, he wanted his food to be something that might lift her spirits up.

Much too soon for Akio's liking, they both finished, and having nothing to distract her, Sakura gave a big yawn. Signaling to her dad that it was time for her to slumber.

Akio smiled softly as he watched Sakura's head tilt down multiple times as she tried to stubbornly stay awake.

 _'Should_ _I bring a camera?'_ He questioned himself, looking for the nearest one. _'Damn, I left it in my room.'_ He cursed. Maybe he could go and get it quickly?

"Daddy~?" Akio froze in his tracks as Sakura called to him in a mellow voice.

 _'Argh!_ _My heart!'_ Akio cried, cradling his wounded heart that was shot by Cupid.

Akio was instantly by Sakura's side as she raised her arms in a grabbing motion. Akio complied.

As soon as Sakura's head landed on Akio's surprisingly comfortable shoulders, she was out like a light.

 _'Camera,_ _camera, camera, camera, camera—'_ Akio glided towards his room, grabbed his camera, took off the flash, and expertly took a picture of his sleeping beauty.

 _'SO_ _~~ CUTE~~~!'_ He gushed and tried to refrain from squealing out loud.

"Mission accomplished. Time to take you to bed." He said after managing to calm down successfully. He leisurely walked towards Sakura's own room. Taking his time and savoring his baby's warmth and the feeling of her small body in his arms. One day, Sakura will be too old in societies eyes where it's will be 'inappropriate' for her dad to hold and carry her, and the thought agitated him, thinking that one day his baby girl won't be his baby girl anymore. A day where she'd push herself away from him, find someone else to replace him. She will...

 _'Get married.'_

 _'No,_ _no, no,'_ he shook his head clear of those thoughts. _'She's still too young for that, and besides, I'll make sure no one with the intent of a **romantic** relationship comes anywhere near my little angel!'_

Akio's admitted that he could be a bit overwhelmingly overbearing, and even if he tried to explain himself to Sakura, his reasoning may seem as unjustifiable to her, but to him, she was everything he has, and he was adamant and firm on his desires to protect and watch over his baby girl.

 _'Even_ _if she was old enough to be classified as old, I will still see her as my baby girl.'_ Akio gently laid Sakura's slumbering body onto her bed and pulled the covers over her body. He played a parting kiss to her forehead and rubbed her head affectionately as he watched her sleeping silently. Carefully observing her face and trying to distinguish whether she might be having unpleasant dreams. After a while, he deemed that she would sleep peacefully, and pulled his hand back reluctantly.

He looked at the time to see that it was only nine o'clock and thought of what he should do with the remaining of the time. Only a few moments later, he decided to write a list of what he could buy Sakura seeing as she was outgrowing her old clothes, and once that was done, he unhesitatingly got dressed and vanished.

After all, he had a long night of work ahead of him.

* * *

 **A/N**

This took me forever to upload! I honestly had to write everything down word for word in 'Doc Manager' seeing as it refused to Copy n Paste! -cries tears of joy- FINALLY!

Hope you liked it, and I hope to see you on the next chapter~!

* * *

 **~~~~~In The Next Episode~~~~~**

"Yup." He popped the 'P'.

"You really know how to kill a man. It was hard refusing you, but I had to make sure you were in top notch condition." He mirrored her smile, his heart warming up.

"Yay!" She cheered exuberantly.

Akio grinned at Sakura's appealing excitement. He was about to pick her up in celebration, then he suddenly froze.

Sakura stared at her suddenly serious dad curiously.

A knock came from the back door.

 _'Who_ _uses the back door these days? And why?'_ Sakura stared in disbelief at the door.

Akio went to answer with Sakura trailing behind him like a young duckling to her mama duck. Behind the door was someone that was completely concealed from head to toe. They wore black clothes with chest 'armor', and their face was hidden behind a unique mask that resembled an animal.

 _'No way..._ _Is that an ANBU!?'_ Sakura stared hard from behind her dad's legs _. 'What's he doing here?'_ Her gaze turned calculative.

"Hello, what a lovely day we're having! How may I help you?" Akio greeted cheerfully.

"The Hokage summons you, Haruno-sama." The ANBU said respectfully, giving a deep bow.


	8. More Than Meets The Eye

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 8: More Than Meets The Eye._

* * *

"Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides."

— André Malraux

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes blearily after a while of twisting around her bed in discomfort. The garish light of the sun kept shining through both her curtains and blanket, bothering her more than it should. She eventually gave up with her fruitless endeavor against either keeping the sun out of her eyes or going back to sleep. Sakura sighed tiredly and determined it was time for her to awaken to a new day.

She got up sluggishly from the bed and went to her bathroom to freshen up. A few minutes later, after washing her face and brushing her teeth and hair, she deemed herself ready for the day.

Sakura felt too indolent to change her clothes, and she refused to use the shower seeing as she took a bath last night before going to bed. Call her messy if you will, but she didn't care, she felt nice and clean, so she didn't bother with doing anything she deemed unnecessary. Especially seeing how her body ached and protested against her moving around thanks to yesterday's activities.

Glancing up at the time, Sakura was startled to notice that it read, 9:42.

 _'I slept for over twelve hours!?'_ Sakura's jaws dropped in astonishment. _'Woah, that's actually a new record, if I do say so myself. Just how tired was I?'_

She quickly got over her initial shock and decided to go check on her dad.

 _'How odd. Why did he not wake me?'_ She questioned herself. Wondering if Akio not coming to wake her up was something natural that happens in this household, or not.

As Sakura was descending down the stairs, a pleasant aroma hit her nostrils, causing her mouth to instantly water at the pleasant smell and her stomach to tighten in hunger.

 _'I want that! Feed me!'_ Her stomach seemed to shout at her as it let out a monstrous growl; Eager to taste the thing that was making such an exceptional smell.

Akio turned around and greeted Sakura just as she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, cherry blossom~ did you sleep well?" He gave her an engaging smile.

"I was going to wake you up quite a while ago, but after seeing how darlingly winsome you looked, I couldn't bring myself to do it." He explained with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Watcha making?" She enquired. Akio's words flying over her head which was only concerned about the food.

Akio chuckled.

"Today, my fair lady, we are having something different~ I truly hope my lady finds it pleasing to her taste buds~"

Instantly, he was by her side, a hand behind his back, and one in front, holding a plate.

"My lady, today I made us something commonly known as 'Curry'. I heard many fascinating things about this particular dish, and last night I thought of crafting something I once read about called 'Curry Bread'. Truly, I am hopeful it is to your liking." He bowed as he laid the plate before her.

At first, Sakura couldn't see anything great about the piece of bread that was put in front of her. It looked like a completely normal bun to her that couldn't be the thing that was giving out such pleasing aroma, and next to it was a spoonful of rice, but when her dad went ahead and cut the bread in half, she saw juices and chunks of delicious looking chicken and leaves decorating her plate beautifully.

"I wanted to make side dishes, but really, 'Curry' is certainly not something to eat in the morning is it?" He laughed. "I couldn't help myself, I felt too excited to try and make it after seeing how well received it was to everyone." He added another plate. It was smaller and filled with vegetable soup.

"This is the starters." He began formally. "Eat your vegetables, 'Kura-chan~" he winked as Sakura crunched up her nose in disdain.

"Fine~!" She grumbled. She wanted to eat Curry first seeing as it piqued her interest.

"And finally, we have something that is called a 'Victorian Sponge Cake'—"

"CAKE!?" Sakura jumped in her chair in delight at the mention of cake. Unable to restrain herself as her eyes sparkled in excitement.

"Ah, ah, ah~" Akio wiggled his finger. "Only after you I see you finish your vegetables~" he teased.

"Whaaaaaaat~? Why~?" She whined. Upset.

The cake was placed in the middle of the table. It looked so absolutely sublime, she felt her heart and soul call out to it as if it was her long lost lover.

"Dig in." And she did. She reached for a spoon and took a sample of the soup. Careful as to not burn herself, yet also hurrying up so that she could get to the main food that was calling out to her. Astonishingly, the soup tasted absolutely divine causing Sakura to unconsciously closed her eyes, losing herself to the wonderful taste of the soup. Even the vegetables, which she didn't like as either Sara nor Sakura was inexplicably pleasant to the taste.

Sakura ate her soup happily and was startled out of her thoughts as her spoon came out from the bowl empty. Apparently, Sakura unknowingly finished her soup too soon for her liking.

"Awww~" she grumbled. Disheartened.

 _'That was the best vegetable soup I have_ ** _ever_** _tasted.'_ She was thinking about asking for more, but her joyful dad motioned towards her untouched Curry with a huge grin on his face.

"Don't forget your Curry, sweetie." His eyes creased in delight.

"'Kay~" she put a spoonful of Curry into her mouth and practically melted.

 _'Oooooh~'_ she moaned as the Curry melted into her mouth. The many tastes and flavored exploding into her mouth and giving her a sense of peace and fulfillment with only that one spoonful.

"Is it good?" Akio asked. He already began eating his own Curry and liked the way it came out, but he worried over his daughter's opinion. If she liked it, he would make sure to make it again one day, but if not... He didn't want to think about that.

Sakura didn't answer, simply taking another spoonful, then another, and another. Her face was the mirror image of utter bliss. Her cheeks were plump and dusted pink, her eyes were closed as she ate, and her left hand was rested on one of her full cheeks. A smile of delight planted firmly on her face.

 _'She loves it.'_ Akio grinned. Now enjoying his food more after knowing his daughter was content with it. _'More than I hoped she would. I'll make sure to make it again very soon.'_ He nodded to himself, mentally thankful for the gentlemen in black for giving him the recipe for making the Curry bun.

Once again, Sakura finished her food much too soon. It felt like she was entering another world while she was eating, and now she was waking up to reality, but the reality felt so much better, felt so much brighter after filling her stomach with such saintly food. She felt utterly blessed to be in this world.

"Haaah~" she let out a sigh of contentment. Full and content.

 _'What a great way to start a day.'_

"Full already?" Akio grinned. Happy his angel was full. It satisfied and gave him an ego boost to know that his cooking brought Sakura satisfaction and filled her up. "We haven't had dessert yet!"

"Arrrrrrrrgh~" Sakura groaned. "I have room." She told herself, grabbing a fork in her small hand and giving the cake her dad swiftly placed in front of her a determined look.

 _'You will be in my stomach.'_ She vowed. As if reading her thoughts, Akio gave a loud laugh.

 _'Shut up Bishounen dad!'_ She stabbed the cake with a pout. Quickly bringing the piece of the cake into her mouth.

"Mmmmm~ yummy~" she managed to utter with full cheeks. Chewing happily at the soft, smooth, creamy and warm piece. She felt like she was flying on a ball of fluff high up into the sky.

The feeling vaguely reminded her of yesterday, about the time where she spent her day playing with Naruto in the park.

 _'Speaking of Naruto, what happened to him?'_ She paused mid-chew.

She recalled being so tired and sleepy that she couldn't properly wave goodbye to him.

She swallowed and took another piece of cake.

For some reason, he looked a bit upset. That part she wasn't sure if it actually happened, or if she dreamt it.

 _'It's not like we aren't going to meet again one day.'_ She took another piece of the spongy cake.

 _'Wait... When can I see him? Didn't we talk about meeting again?'_ She contemplated. Thinking hard.

 _'Now that I think of it, we never once said we were friends or anything of the sort.'_ Sakura slowly took the last piece of cake into her mouth. It suddenly didn't taste as mind blowing as before. It was still very delicious, but... _'Shoot! I didn't ask for us to meet again, or mentioned anything about us being friends!'_ She mentally hit herself. The sad look that felt like it wanted to say too much, yet so little suddenly making sense to her. It wasn't a dream.

 _'Did that boy seriously assume it was a one-time thing!?'_ She narrowed her eyes _. 'Are you dumb? Who would play so happily like that and laugh so hard at someone who you have met and talk to once in your life, before moving on? No one I tell you! I legitimately had fun, and wish to continue playing like that again one day.'_ That made her think.

"Dad!"

 _'I gotta see him again, and get it into his thick pessimistic skull that we are friends now.'_ The part that was completely a lonely little girl vowed to herself, unwilling to lose the first friend she has ever had.

"Can we go to the park today?" Akio blinked at her sudden enthusiasm.

"We went just yesterday..." He said slowly. Unsure of how to tell her 'no' for today.

"Usually, I take you there once a month. Even then you're not too excited about going."

"I wanna go." She tried conveying the urgency in her voice. Akio skillfully avoided making eye contact with her. Knowing he'll lose the battle and cave in if he saw her.

"Nonetheless, I'm sure you're sore from all the running and jumping you did yesterday." He said with certainty. Sakura never before ran so hard, and Akio worried she'd get sick after seeing how much she screamed, and the fact she lost her voice by the end of the day proved his point.

Even now, her voice was much softer than it usually was! It broke Akio's heart knowing that his angel was hurting and he couldn't do anything about it. How he wished to take away her pain. He will be very happy and content to have every illness and injuries of the world, just so his daughter never will.

"..." Sakura couldn't argue with him, not when he struck a nail right on the hole, and as if agreeing with her dad, her body began throbbing in dull pain.

"But..." She tried to protest, even though she knew she was beaten.

"Is it about your new friend?" Akio gave her an understanding look. "You can see him again next time you go to the park, but now, you need your rest." He said with finality.

"Okay..." Sakura finally concedes defeat after a few seconds of silence, trying not to make the disappointment show evidently.

"Hey," she looked up at Akio's gentle call. "You'll see him again. Don't worry." It surprised Sakura how supportive her father was of her. Seeing as Sakura never had a friend before, Akio was all for her having one, even though it was a boy, the 'creatures' he abhorred so much. As long as Sakura was happy and living her childhood to the fullest, he would be all up for having any types of friends for her, but only those who wouldn't hinder her. Seeing how full of life Sakura was yesterday made Akio soar to the sky, and he completely overlooked the fact that his baby forgot everything of their time together, seeing as it wasn't apparent to him as she played around with her first friend. He approved of the boy to be her friend after seeing the positive effect he had on his baby girl, even though that boy was scorned by most of the villagers.

Akio had nothing personal against Uzumaki Naruto, but Naruto's statues and Akio's over-protectiveness of Sakura against kids of the opposite gender led Akio to try and keep them far apart from each other. He feared his daughter's future and sociability should she become friends with the Uzumaki.

If Sakura and Naruto were to become friends, in the worst case scenario, other parents, and the villagers will wrongfully scorn his angel as well for associating herself with the 'demon' of the village, and that would lead them to tell their children to stay away from her, and consequently leave Sakura to become a loner, and for her to never get out of her shell to bloom into the beautiful, charismatic girl he knew she would become should she get over her one weakness; her shyness.

Akio knew that the villagers would not dare to begin to spread false rumors about his sweetheart seeing as he made it absolutely clear to everyone who knew who he was to be very careful and think twice before they even attempted it, and he made sure to _persuade_ then with showing them what would happen should someone so much as _looks_ wrongfully at his angel, they would very much wish that they were dead and six feet under just to avoid him.

The more rational outcome was having kids avoid Sakura along with Naruto, seeing as parents already advised their children to avoid the Uzumaki, and should Sakura be associated with said Uzumaki, then they would tend to avoid her as well.

 _'It's_ _quite the predicament, but...'_ Akio snuck a look towards Sakura's disappointed expression. _'She really seems to be taken by the boy. I'm guessing since no one has ever played with her in such a way, nor has anyone ever made her laugh so much in her life, that makes Uzumaki Naruto, in a literal sense, Sakura's first ever playmate and friend.'_

 _'Why_ _out of everyone in the whole village did it have to be him, though? Why a_ boy _?'_ He wept. Praying with everything he has for God to not turn Sakura into a tomboy. He hopes with every fiber of his being for the pink haired girl to gains female friends very soon so that they would show her how girls interact normally with each other and teach her about femininity, which was something he tries to do but cannot efficiently do it since he is a man.

 _'If_ _Naruto is Sakura's first friend then he's obviously gained a special place in her heart.'_ A part of Akio whispered.

 _'Yeah, so?'_

 _'Imagine_ _this,'_ his other half whispered darkly into his ears. _'They grow up together as the best of friends. They know everything about each other from A to Z. They reach their teenage years, the hormonal stage, fall in love, confess, and marry each other since they have such a special bond.'_ The more the cruel voice whispered, the paler Akio's face became until he looked drained and sickly. He could see everything he feared happening in perfect details and clear imagery. It made his stomach lurch in the most unpleasant way as he saw his baby girl so grown up and beautiful, wearing a pure white wedding dress, one far more glamorous and elegant than a wedding kimono, and she was waving at him with an innocent smile.

 _'Goodbye_ _, daddy~"_ she called in her bell-like voice, slowly disappearing with her new husband who was smirking victoriously at him.

 _'Sakura_ _, nooooo~!"_ He tried to reach out and grab her hand, but she was too far away for him to reach.

 _'Saaakuuuuraaaaa~!'_

Akio suddenly jolted out of that nightmarish daydream.

 _'Yuck_ _, marriage.'_ He grimaced, trying to ignore what he just imagined. _'Not while I'm still alive.'_ He swore with sharp glowing eyes.

* * *

Two days later.

It has been two days, today is the second day, and Sakura was trying to convince her dad to take her back to the park. On the first day, Akio somehow figured out that her body was still hurting, even after she told him that it was much better than the previous day. He just would not listen, and today he kept eyeing her critically for any signs that she was aching. Sakura had to literally flail around to show him she was completely _fine_.

"Hmm..." He stared at her with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" Sakura groaned in frustration, turning around to leave while trying not to let tears of frustration come forth.

"No!" Akio jumped after her, laughing as he grabbing her by the shoulders. "I was teasing~!" He giggled.

"Do you mean...?" She turns, her eyes wide with hope and her lip gradually curling up into a beaming smile.

"Yup." He popped the 'P'.

"You really know how to kill a man. It was hard refusing you, but I had to make sure you were in top notch condition." He mirrored her smile, his heart warming up.

"Yay!" She cheered exuberantly.

Akio grinned at Sakura's appealing excitement. He was about to pick her up in celebration, then he suddenly froze.

Sakura stared at her suddenly serious dad curiously.

A knock came from the back door.

 _'Who_ _uses the back door these days? And why?'_ Sakura stared in disbelief at the door.

Akio went to answer with Sakura trailing behind him like a young duckling to her mama duck. Behind the door was someone that was completely concealed from head to toe. They wore black clothes with chest 'armor', and their face was hidden behind a unique mask that resembled an animal.

 _'No_ _way... Is that an ANBU!?'_ Sakura stared hard from behind her dad's legs _. 'What's he doing here?'_ Her gaze turned calculative.

"Hello, a lovely day we're having! How may I help you?" Akio greeted cheerfully.

"The Hokage summons you, Haruno-sama." The ANBU said respectfully, giving a deep bow.

Sakura's hard gaze sharpened and quickly turned towards her father who began sweating bullets.

"Ah~ is he now~?" He said with fake cheer. Aware of Sakura's steely gaze digging into his skull.

"Hai."

"O-ok—"

 _"D_ _aaaaaaad_..." Akio choked on his spit at the sharp edge in Sakura's voice.

"You _just_ promised me... You _just_ agreed to take me to the park." Hellfire burned inside Sakura's eyes. She didn't even care about the ANBU standing _right there_. All she cared about for two whole days was seeing Naruto seeing as she had a bad feeling the whole time ever since they left him, and now, after what felt like an eternity of waiting for approval to go, this stranger barges in and basically says she can't go. _Hell_ no.

Akio turned around and went down to her level with sweat pouring down his pale face rapidly.

"I-I know, baby girl, b-but this is the Hokage we're talking about. P-please understand?" His hands were clapped together into a praying motion.

Sakura pouted and lowered her head down. "I know..." She said softly, clearly disheartened. Akio felt his heart break at making his daughters day worst.

"Just leave me alone here. I don't care. It's not like a really wanted to go with you." She mumbled, unwilling to look at her father's face.

The ANBU sweat-dropped as he saw Akio panic and frantically beg his daughter for forgiveness. Also promising her things no other parent thinks of promising their child.

 _'It_ _is quite embarrassing to bear witness to the great Akio-sama groveling in front of a little five-year-old girl. She truly has him down on his knees and wrapped around her little finger.'_

"Haruno-sama." The ANBU spoke up, reminding Akio about the reason he came as Akio was trying to get his daughter to look at him. Sakura looked like she was about to forgive him till the ANBU spoke up, and she turned her head away once more with a "Hmph!" Causing Akio to turn to stone and crack in various places.

"Yes... Yes... Hiruzen... Of course..." Akio spoke weakly as he slowly turned towards the ANBU. Swaying side to side with a defeated gloomy air around him.

 _'I_ _cannot witness a glimpse of the legendary man people speak of. Could it have been merely a rumor?'_

A sudden crazed laugh grabbed the uncomfortable ANBU's attention.

"Can't keep him waiting! Nope! No, no, no! Oh! The poor old man might have a heart attack today! Hahaha! Wouldn't that be unfortunate?" He laughed, smiling maniacally.

"You, my friend, are to remain here." Akio gripped the ANBU's shoulder. The ANBU stiffened up at the vice grip and cold undertone in the father's tone.

"But, sir. I—" the hand on his shoulders tightened drastically, almost breaking the bone.

"You _will_ stay here and watch over my sweet little angel. **Am I understood**?" Akio smiled. His face was covered in shadows, with only his eyes showing, gazing deeply into the ANBU's own eyes from behind the mask.

The ANBU gulped; shaking in fear. Akio's eyes were pure red. Red like the fires of hell, red like the deepest blood, and much more frightening than the infamous Sharingan the Uchiha are known to having. Not only that, but the hand that was holding the ANBU held overwhelming power beneath them. A power that stunned the ANBU and made him truly fear his life. The ANBU was frozen in fear and his knees were quivering, making it hard for him to stand, and had it not been for Akio holding him up, then the ANBU surely would have gone down on his hands and knees.

"Y-yes, sir..." The ANBU's voice was very soft and cracked as he nodded shakily. Now aware of the reason why people feared the man. Especially if the subject involved his daughter.

"Good." The ANBU found himself suddenly able to breathe as the room gained color. "Don't upset her or let any harm come to her! If I see even one hair missing I will get ya~" Akio smiled teasingly. "Trust me when I say I know how many hairs she has." His voice lowered as his smile sharper. "I counted."

"Whelp, bye~!" And he was gone as if nothing went amiss.

"Ha..." The ANBU shivered.

 _'What_ _was that? Everything faded away with only those horrible eyes being the only thing I could see.'_ Sweat ran down his face as he remembered the look in Akio's eyes. _'Was it Genjutsu? Even the Kyuubi's eyes on that day weren't as frightening as his were! His eyes looked like they were the eyes of a notorious criminal. Even more intelligent than a Nara's!'_

 _'I_ _wonder what the heck is wrong with this guy? Weirdo...'_

Seeing the ANBU preoccupied with whatever he was thinking of, Sakura began analyzing her current position and thinking of a strategy that would assure her victory in her quest to going to the park.

"Hmm..." She put on a thinking face, then suddenly perked up as an idea struck her as she was observing the absentminded ANBU.

 _'Dad_ _did say to the ANBU to babysit me, and I'm sure he won't do anything to a little girl who knows no better...'_ Her plan was put in motion as she stepped forward with extended arms.

"Oof!" The ANBU grunted, looking down in surprise at the smiling face of the devil's child.

"Take me to the park!" She demanded.

"I wanna go to the park!"

"How about you remain in the house until your father comes home." He rebuked in a final tone of voice.

Sakura's smile dropped as her eyes began to water.

"D-da..."

 _"Don't_ _upset her or let any harm come to her!"_

The ANBU recalled those red glaring eyes promising pain and lost all color in his body. It felt like someone poured cold water all over his body.

"Or we can go now?" He squeaked. "You remember the way?"

"Un!" She nodded happily. All evidence of previously being upset vanished. "Yaaaaay~! Finally~!" She jumped up in down, grinning in victory.

 _'She_ _really is his daughter!_ ' He hissed as he saw her victory dance. She knew what she was doing, and he was sure of that.

 _'Little_ _minx!'_

 _'I'm_ _coming, fishcake~'_

* * *

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Co—" someone who sounded like they were recently hitting puberty began speaking. " _ahem_. Come in." A wise aged voice spoke as calmly as they could, with authority held in their voice.

The door to the room opened as Haruno Akio entered with an almost concerning large smile on his face.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen~" he greeted. "To what do I own the honor of being summoned while in the middle of taking my precious baby girl outside to have a father-daughter moment~?" His words were spoken sugary sweetly and had a dark and dangerous undertone to it that clearly said, "you better have a goddamn good reason for calling me, _or else_."

The Hokage's face did not change. One would have found his control and fearlessness quite impressive had he not have his chair turned away from the front door where Akio was grinning wickedly and he was sweating profusely while smoking a pot with shaky fingers.

It took a few minutes of suffocating silence until Hiruzen managed to get the courage to face Akio.

A few minutes more were given for Hiruzen to ever so slowly turn his chair to face the now impatient Hokage.

"Welcome, Akio-kun." Hiruzen greeted, looking straight into Akio's eyes professionally. "I wish to speak with you about a certain unanticipated incident that I find slightly concerning."

Akio straightened up at the familiar look in the Hokage's eyes.

This meant personal business. One that had Akio looking back into a day filled with overwhelming pain, and he was drowning in a deep ocean of blood.

 _Akio_ _was seen looking down at his hands that were covered with blood, around him were the bodies of two women and to the side was a cry coming from a baby's crib. The room he was in was dyed red from top to bottom. He smiled as he approached the crib with sadistic glee in his eyes._

* * *

 **A/N**

This chapter was first written with the previous chapter as one, but I decided to cut it in half seeing as it was getting way too long, and I feared I wouldn't be able to finish it on time.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter~

* * *

 **~~~~~In The Next Episode~~~~~**

"Hello," she smiled widely, feeling confident after such a welcoming greeting from Haru. "My name is Haruno Sakura~!" She inched her head forward in a small bow.

"I know." He said blankly. "I'm Fuse Handa. Nice to meet you Sakura-chan." Sakura raised her hand for a handshake, but she was surprised to see Handa ignore her extended arm and step uncomfortably close to her.

"Eek!" She gave a small squeak as she felt his arms circle around her and pull her into an embrace.

 _Ba_ _-bump._

 _Ba_ _-bump._

 _Ba_ _-bump._

"Mmm... She really does smell nice."

 _Ba_ _-bump. Ba-bump._

 _Ba_ _-bump. Ba-bump._

 _Ba_ _-bump. Ba-bump._

Sakura let out a sigh of relief as finally after what felt like an eternity, Handa dropped his arms and took a step back away from her.

 _'That was awkward...'_

"MY TURN!" Sakura turned, only to catch a glimpse of someone hurdling towards her, and she instinctively took a step to the side out of fear of being hit, causing that blur to fall down front first into the grass next to her.


	9. New Friends

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 9: New Friends._

* * *

"Don't forget you're human. It's okay to have a meltdown, just don't unpack and live there. Cry it out and then refocus on where you are headed."

— Unknown Author

* * *

A deafening silence filled the room, suffocating those in it except for two who were having an intense stare off.

"..."

An ANBU shifted awkwardly, wanting to be as far away from this overpowering air as possible.

"..."

"Hiruzen..." Akio sighed tiredly after too long for comfort. "Honestly... You..." He grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. Akio was uncertain of how he should reply to what he just heard.

"I am fully aware that you want things to remain as they are, but the fact remains that _he_ —" Akio held up a hand in silence, cutting Hiruzen off from whatever he was about to say.

"Please... Don't mention _him_." He whispered. Expression twisting in pain and disgust.

Hiruzen stared in understanding. He didn't want to bring back painful memories of the past, but the situation called for it. Hiruzen hated to see his friends in pain, especially if he was the cause of their distress, but he was worried.

"Akio-kun... You cannot ignore everything pretending as if they never happened. That is not the way of life, and you know that, my friend."

"I do." Akio nodded in confirmation. "But at the moment, everything is fine; _pleasant_. I haven't seen nor heard from _him_ at all, not after _that_ night long ago."

"..." Hiruzen stared intently at Akio with sharps eyes then sighed.

"I believe you. Truly I do, yet I must remain vigilant in case of a... reoccurrence."

"I know, I know." Akio waved his hand dismissively. "But that's not the only reason why you called me here, is it?" He glared in frustration. "It hasn't even been that long before our last meeting, yet here I am!" He waved his arms around dramatically with a mock exasperated look on his face and teasing eyes.

"Heh." Hiruzen chuckled good naturally at his friend's antics. "No, you're right. It concerns our last discussion."

"Which one? The grim one, or the other one?" Hiruzen's lips twitched upwards in dry amusement.

"... The other one."

"Oh!" Akio smiled radiantly. "Then the answer is **no** ~"

"I suspected as much," Hiruzen sighed, not letting the dark tone of voice get to him nor the sudden horns that sprang out of Akio's head. His age was showing clearly by the wrinkles on his face, indicating how unhappy he was at what he was about to say.

"Still, I hope you reconsider the offer. The village needs someone like you, especially after the attack five years ago. I fear the other villages will take our silence as a sign of weakness and contemplate an attack. Things are looking very grim for us."

"They were always grim, but Konohagakure managed to survive." Akio sighed. Mirroring the Kage's expression.

"It always has. I don't see how me becoming a Shinobi will be of any use to it. Especially seeing how well the current Shinobi's are handling everything. Besides," he added after seeing his old friend open his mouth. "I have Sakura to take care of. She needs me now more than ever, and..."

 _"I need her."_ Was left unsaid, but Hiruzen read it clearly on Akio's face. Akio always did show his true emotions when it involved his daughter. The love was clear as day.

"I understand. Still..."

"My sincerest apologies, Hokage-Sama, but I refuse to lose my statues as a civilian." Akio stared hard into his Kage's eyes with burning eyes. "Not yet."

* * *

Same time with Sakura, she was presently walking around the village, trying to recall the directions her dad took her through towards the park where she first met Naruto.

To the eyes of civilians and inexperienced Genin and Chunin, it looked like she was alone, but to an experienced ninja, they could easily sense, and, or see the ANBU officer watching over her a little way away.

 _'How cute.'_ Sakura smiled, remembering their conversation before they left the house as she forced him to take her.

 **~~~~~~~~~Flash Back~~~~~~~~~~**

"Or we can go now?" The ANBU said in a high pitched tone of voice. It made Sakura wonder why the man was suddenly speaking like a mouse, but she quickly shrugged it off guessing that it was not that important. She assumed that maybe it was her sudden hug that caught him off guard.

"Do you remember the way?" He asked her in a clear and more subdued tone. A tone she found have found 'cool' had she not heard the high pitched tone he made only a few seconds ago.

"Un!" Sakura nodded vigorously. Faintly recalling the way to the park, but she was sure that as soon as she left the house, she will remember everything clearly, or crosses paths with familiar building and stores that will distinguish where she is at the time.

Sakura was suddenly assaulted by the intense feeling of childish glee at the thought of going to the park.

"Yaaaaay~! Finally~!" She couldn't resist jumping up and down while grinning in victory.

 _'Finally, someone who'll take me to the park!'_ She danced around happily, picturing the grinning face of the young boy she played with only two days ago. Her first friend.

 _'I'm coming, fishcake~'_

Sakura called out with feelings in her heart, hoping that her first friend could somehow hear or sense the sincerity deep inside her.

"Wear your shoes." The ANBU taking her ordered. For some reason unknown to Sakura, he sounded like he was pissed off, but honestly, she didn't give a crap about him. She didn't care if he was happy taking her to the park seeing it's his fault that her dad couldn't take her, so to her, the ANBU needed to compensate for the interruption and disappointment she felt in any way he could.

Sakura quickly rushed to put on her shoes and reached to open the front door once she was done.

"Wait." A hand stopped her from opening the door, and she turned her head to the side, giving a confused look at the large ANBU.

"I cannot let people see me escorting you, understand." He began. "Do not be disconcerted or input that I had abandoned you if you are incapable of seeing me considering the circumstance which forces me to conceal myself for private purposes."

 _'How the heck would a five-year-old understand half of what you're saying?'_

Sakura _really_ wanted to say that out loud, but decided against it in the end. It'll be better for her if she didn't draw too much attention to myself, or stand out too much for that matter.

She decided to just nod slowly at what the ANBU said. Acting like she didn't understand but was pretending to _have_ understood him, so that she might seem like a legitimate five-year-old ignorant child.

"... Okie." She said as cutely as she possibly could. "I won't see you, but you'll be there?" she confirmed, feeling impatient now.

"Affirmative."

 _'Affir— are you kidding me!? The hell is wrong with humanity!?'_ it took everything in Sakura's willpower to restrained herself from laughing out loud, because honestly... Are you _joking_? Who the hell would respond like that to some brat?

 _'Hellooooooo~ I'm a little girl here who shouldn't understand a single thing from what you're saying, you idiot!'_

"... Can we go now?" Was said impatiently through gritted teeth, trying so hard not to laugh or scream at the incredulous mannerisms of these used to be extinct ninjas. It was simply unbelievable.

The ANBU simply gave a nod, and said, "I will concentration my Chakra to merge with yours momentarily. That will make you sense my presence being near you, but other than that, I cannot interfere with your personal affairs."

True to his previous words, he suddenly went 'whoosh~' and vanished, and Sakura found herself to be all alone in the house. Or at least, it seemed like she was alone. For some reason, it's like he was still there, she could almost _feel_ him standing there close to her, inside her core she could feel his presence, but she can't see him as if he was invisible.

It made Sara wonder, was this how Genjutsu's worked? And how could she sense him being near her if he wasn't physically there? She couldn't even sense her new dad who was standing right beside her even though he wasn't even trying to hide himself or anything of the sort.

Which brought Sara's attention to another thing that made her very uncomfortable and anxious. Sensing the ANBU is one thing, but the sudden feelings and thoughts circling around her mind dictating the ANBU's very _personality_ ; making her know him better, was another thing. There was this strange warmth around Sakura almost like a promise of protection and duty. It made it clear to her that this man was one that cares too much about the law and doing what's right. Both Sara and Sakura could tell on a deep level that even though the ANBU may dislike someone in this village, and the fact she's making him take her to the park even though he's job is far more dangerous and higher level than that, he will still protect everyone with his very life no matter what. Including her.

 _'H-how am I getting all these information? H-hold on...'_ The last thing the ANBU said to Sakura rang clearly through her ears.

 _"I will concentration my Chakra to merge with yours momentarily. That will make you sense my presence being near you, but other than that, I cannot interfere with your personal affairs."_

 _'... Is this... Chakra? Is it what's making me feel all this?'_ Sara recalled a distant memory from the time she first started watching the show Naruto, where the original Sakura explain what Chakra was to Naruto.

Sara racked her mind to remember what was said at that time, and while her memory of the show wasn't that great she still thinks it is helpful. Chakra is something that is spiritual, she guessed. Maybe Chakra is similar to a person's soul since it exists insides people and they even feel fatigued when their low on it since they pretty much use their own life-force to battle. Sara also heard believes that each person's Chakra is different from the other person, like how each human has a different set of fingerprints, never matching with anyone. She assumed that the reason is in fact a likely one, because Chakra reflects a person's true personality and how they themselves are inside. Of course, she wasn't a hundred percent sure with that, but it was the best she had, so she had to deal with it until someone else who is much knowledgeable than she is explains it to her.

Speaking of the strange phenomenon that is Chakra, Sara couldn't stop the fear from griping on her chest. If she could sense the true personality of the ANBU, then does that mean he could also tell she wasn't as innocent and ignorant as she appeared to be? Does that me anyone could find out her true identity if they just did what the ANBU did to her? The thought terrified her and rightfully so.

 _'I don't know. These are all just assumptions. Anyways—'_ Sakura suddenly perked up. it was time to go to the paaaaaark~!

The young girl skipped to open the door and took the first step out of the house towards her destination.

 _'Woah...'_ She gasped at all the people walking around. There were so many families who were walking around holding the hands of their child as the children laughed and chatted with them merrily. Seeing all the happy faces made Sara feel all the more out of place than she already was.

 _'They're all so very beautiful._ ' she gazed critically at each and every person who walked by, completely mesmerized by their appearance. In addition to their beauty, they had those typical happy anime bubbles floating around them that just spoke of a wonderful day forwards.

 _'It's like the calm before the storm.'_ She thought, then physically slapped herself on her forehead. The sound of her palm making contact with her skin rang clearly as she mentally chided myself.

 _'Don't jinx yourself!'_

Sakura looked up with a determined face and tried to remember the directions to the park he dad took her to.

 _'Did we take a right first? Yeah, a right, then we walked forward for a while... Then...'_ She went on that way recalling the directions to the best of her abilities, while walking forwards, keeping an eye peeled for distinguishing building she saw previously on her walk.

 **~~~~~~~~~Flash Back End~~~~~~~~~~**

Throughout the whole way Sakura would still feel the ANBU near her. Not even once did she feel like she was walking around a large unfamiliar place all alone. On the contrary, Sakura felt safe and secure, and on numerous times when she was uncertain of the way, she would almost feel a light _pull_ in a certain direction that led her to a more familiar street.

 _'Very cute. I really like him.'_ She smiled widely with pink cheeks as she finally reached the park.

 _'_ _Gosh, was it honestly this far away, or did I take too many wrong turns to get here?'_

It didn't matter, in the end. She made it, and now her whole consciousness was consumed with her former playground playmate.

Sakura ran towards the direction of the swings, and as she got closer, she noticed many kids playing on and around it.

 _'If Naruto was there, then the swings would be completely empty._ ' She recalled, now looking around. _'So where is he?'_

Sakura spent the next half an hour looking through the whole park for a certain blonde haired boy, but came up empty handed even after searching around and checking the same spots in hopes that he'd be there. Now, finally having given up, Sakura sat on the sand, halfheartedly building indistinguishable shapes.

"Hnnn..." She sighed dejectedly through her nose.

The young, childish Sakura side of her felt upset at not seeing her very first friend, and disappointed at not playing with him like the day they met, while the Sara part of her felt only slightly disappointed, but also relieved. It was better for her to stay as far away from the _main character_ as possible. She quickly shrugged the feelings of disappointment away, saying it was obvious that Naruto won't constantly spend his free time in a park with no one to play with seeing at it will only serve remind him of his loneliness and injure his already hurt heart.

 _'... I still want to play with him...'_

Sakura sensed the ANBU's chakra vaguely. It informed her that the ANBU was close enough to her in case something was to happen, yet he was far away enough where he won't witness her moping.

She appreciated him giving her time for herself.

Currently, the small girl was pouting at the sand, trying hard to will the urge to cry away.

"Lookie here~" Sakura looked up at the person blocking the sunlight from her.

 _'Seriously, this girl needs to get a tan and you're blocking the only source she has.'_

There were more than one person, but the face of the person in front of Sakura gave her a sense of foreboding.

 _'Her name was Ami, right?'_ She gazed at the girl's confident smirk, then her eyes drifted towards Ami's short purple hair.

 _'This is making me feel apprehensive. Especially now with Sakura's mentally unstable emotions at having not found Naruto.'_

"It's forehead girl~" Ami sang.

 _'Shot!'_ Sara cussed internally as she felt her new body tense up and her eyes twinge. She could feel the ANBU's confusion through his chakra, but she couldn't focus on him, nor bothered to pay him any mind since she was too occupied with controlling her emotions.

"Huh?" Ami got a confused look on her face, then grinned widely. "Oooh~ is forehead girl gonna cwy~?" She made weeping gestures.

"She is gonna cwy!" One of the girls with Ami declared in mock shock.

"Hehe~ baby forehead~" another giggled to herself.

Ami looked to the side in thought as she spoke, her cheeks were tinged a light pink and her expression was a bit embarrassed.

"O-ok, hey, forehead girlie, you—" Sakura suddenly stood up as Ami was talking, cutting her off. Sakura's hair shadowed her eyes, but as she shot past the girl, she accidentally made eye contact with Ami, whose eyes widened at seeing shiny, fat tears threatening to spill from the pinkie's eyes.

"O-oi!" She said, but Sakura was already way ahead of them, then gone.

Ami watched silently at the place Sakura disappeared to, trying to understand why her chest hurt.

"Hey, where'd pinkie go?" A girl asked.

"We didn' even tew her to pway wid us." Another mumbled sadly.

"... Who cares? I don't!" Ami suddenly grumbled, kicking a stray rock with her leg.

"So, tag?" The first said uncertainly.

"I don' wanna play. I feel bad." Ami glared, walking away after giving the place Sakura ran to one last hesitant look.

* * *

Hiro is a respectable man who valued the rules and code of a Shinobi almost religiously. If the mission called for a sacrifice, then it'll get one, but that sacrifice had to be him one way or another. He is a man that followed the rules to the letter, but he also had morals he absolutely refused to break no matter what might happen.

For example, if his mission depended on protecting someone, be it someone who was rich, or poor, or unimportant, then he will protect them with his very life, because to Hiro, his mission is important and so is that person, for he believed that no human out there is more important than the other. No life is more valuable than another, for each one is of equal importance.

Hiro's dedication to the rules made him out to be someone who is cold and unfeeling to many, but truly, their thoughts didn't bother, nor concern him much. They could make as many assumptions of him as they pleased, because it was only that, and _assumption_ , and Hiro knew who he was, so he didn't feel it necessary to go proving every single persons opinion as wrong.

 _"I permit them to assume things as they please."_ He'd say. _"Each and everyone has their own thoughts and opinions."_

Even though his indifferent attitude may be the reason no one bothered to befriend him, since they never bothered to see what lay beneath the ice, what lay beneath the man who abide by the law, and that man; Hiro was always someone who dreamed of building a family with someone worth his time and devoting, yet seeing as no one fit that description, he deemed it the best that he remained vigilant about his job, with no distraction.

 _"I was born to become a weapon who shall die protecting the peace of my Village, and those inside it."_

Without a doubt, he found that to be an ideal death for someone of his character.

Hiro has already decided on his future, he has already decided to disregard those distracting sentimental feelings, yet why was he suddenly overcome with the need to rush towards the young pink haired child the moment he sensed her emotional distress through their connected chakra? Why was he staring so intently, feeling lost looking at the back of her head as she cried her little heart out while sitting on the ground?

 _'Your clothes will get dirty.'_ He wanted to say, but the words refused to leave his mouth.

A quick scan showed that the crying girl's clothes were already filthy. He concluded it was from the time she thought it to be a bright idea to mope on the sand.

Hiro felt his hand twitch to life as it reached to lad on Sakura's quivering shoulders, but they stopped short as he sensed someone approaching, and a close examination of the Chakra signal showed that it was that of a child's.

 _'I cannot be seen accompanying an innocent civilian.'_ He thought, then quickly and silently jumped onto a tree. Having a good vantage point where he could hear and see everything that might transpire to his charge, yet still remain perfectly concealed to prying eyes.

He noticed a young blond haired girl walking closer to his oblivious charge.

 _'A Yamanaka.'_ He deduced.

The Yamanaka was walking around normally, and the moment her eyes landed on Sakura, she stopped for a second, then changed her course towards the crying girl.

"Hey..." He heard her call out after she noticed that the crying girl was incapable of noticing the Yamanaka as she was too busy crying.

Sakura stopped sobbing after hearing the sudden voice call out, and she looked up cautiously at the girl before her.

"M-me?" She questioned softly, shrinking into herself in defense.

"Un-hu." The Yamanaka nodded. "What's your name?"

Sakura looked startled at the direct approach made by the blond, slightly familiar girl.

"S-Sakura..." She whispered hoarsely.

"Speak up! I couldn't hear you!"

"H-Haruno S-Sakura..." She said slightly louder, but apparently not loud enough.

"It's like trying to hear a mouse." The blond sighed dramatically. "Speak louder!"

Sakura frowned.

"It's Haruno Sakura!" She shouted with clenched eyes. Frustrated at the way her day has been going so far.

First, her dad, the only person she trusted in this world was taken to go to the Hokage, leaving her all alone to go to the park to find a kid who she shortly met yet enjoyed spending time with. Then, she couldn't find the person whom was the reason why she wanted to come to the park in the first place. After that, she gets teased by those mean girls about something she was very self-conscious about. And now, there's this blond girl who keeps pestering her for her name, and doesn't seem to know the meaning of personal space.

 _'Why do you even care about my goddamn name? It's not like I'm anything to you anyways! Just go on your merry way and leave me alone!'_

 _Poke._

"I don't get why Ami kept teasing you about your forehead. It's not _that_ big." The blonde stated while gazing intently at Sakura's forehead.

Sakura stared with an open mouth into the clear eyes of the girl.

"It is slightly bigger than others, but not too much, and the way you frame your hair makes it look nicer." Fresh tears began filling Sakura's eyes. Out of all the thing she expected, a compliment was the last thing.

"Nngh... *hic*... *hic*..." She began hiccupping, wiping furiously at her eyes in attempt of stopping her tears.

The blonde simply stared at the crying girl in slight wonder and confusion, then smiled kindly.

"Sakura, right." She asked, getting a nod of confirmation. "Why don't you come here again tomorrow." She girl began walking away, and waved. "I'll give you something nice to compliment that nice head of yours!" She called.

"...huh?" Sakura stared with wide eyes at the girl's retreating back. "W-wait!" She called out, but the blond was too far away to hear.

"... Thank you." She said softly. Feeling grateful towards the girl who somehow managed to lift her mood up in the strangest of ways.

Sakura felt the familiar tug of the ANBU's chakra, whom she almost forgot about. It was an impatient tug, informing Sakura that it was time to go back home, yet for some bizarre reason, Sakura felt like the ANBU's chakra was lighter than before, as if it was trying to sooth her, but that's ridiculous, right? How could chakra comfort someone? And why would an ANBU feel sympathetic over a stupid five-year-old child's unimportant problems?

 _'Time to go home. Dad should be home right about now, right?'_ She began walking to where the chakra was directing her.

A certain blond haired girl's smiling face passed over in a haze through Sakura's head. She couldn't brush away the feeling that she knew that girl. That girl looked so very familiar, yet Sakura was sure she never seen her before in her life.

 _'But why do I feel like I've seen her from somewhere?'_ Something kept nagging at her at the back of her head. Those eye-catching baby blue, pupil-less eyes were giving her a headache.

 _'Why do I feel so stupid right now?'_

Sakura decided to shrug off the feeling to the back of her mind and simply follow the impatient pull of the ANBU's chakra. She was tired both emotionally and physically.

* * *

The moment Sakura set foot through the door, she was embraced suddenly by a crying Akio.

"Saaaaaakuuuuuraaaaa-chaaaaaaan~!" He called dramatically.

"Daddy missed you~!"

The previous frustration Sakura had towards her new dad resurfaced back with a vengeance.

"I didn't miss _you_." She said back, feeling Akio's arms go slack around her. He set her down back to her feet and gazed at her with those over the top wide bugged anime eyes.

"EHHHHH!?" He questioned smartly.

Truthfully, Sakura did miss her father. Form the moment she left the house, she felt so out of place and lost. The moment she was in the park, she noticed how alone she felt without either Naruto, or her father who is always there for her, and when those girls began teasing her, she truly wished for him to suddenly pop out from out of nowhere and hold her hand.

 _'But he didn't.'_ It might have been unfair of her to be mad at Akio, but she still couldn't stop the feeling of betrayal.

 _'He should've been there with me, like always!'_ Her five-year-old conscious ran around as a Chibi version of herself around her head.

 _'How petulant.'_ Sara sighed tiredly, feeling a tab bit bad for Akio.

 _'Poor guy, he looks like he doesn't understand why his daughter is suddenly upset with him. I wonder if my presence caused this to happen? Or if it is a normal occurrence?'_

"I had fun while I was out!" She said, unable to stop herself from saying things without thought.

A confused look came to Akio's face.

"Where did you go?" He asked, then his expression turned into an overprotective one. "Did anything bad happen to you? Someone upset you? Did the ANBU watching over you neglect you?" He fired question after question. The ANBU who was watching over her remained standing all tensed up at the side, waiting to be dismissed, for he feared if he left without formally informing Akio, nor reporting on the Haruno's daughter's day, then trouble will arise for him.

"He took me to the park, and I had a ton of fun!" She turned her face to the side.

 _'Liar. She spent the first half hour searching for someone who wasn't there, then moping, and after that crying. Nothing about her day seemed fun.'_ Hiro deadpanned. Giving Sakura a blank look through his mask.

 _'I wonder, should I mention his daughter's dislike of the day, or will it come under the regulation of me failing on guarding the child well?'_

"You took Sakura to the park!?" Akio's head snapped quickly towards the ANBU's standing form as he shouted angrily.

"How dare you! I was supposed to take her!"

Hiro tensed up more if that was possible in preparation of a hostile assault.

"Stop getting mad at him!" Sakura cut in indignantly.

"I asked him to take me, and he _did_! Unlike a certain someone who promised, but broke their promise." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave Akio a side haughty look.

As if a switch was flipped, Akio was suddenly on the ground in his hands and knees with a gloomy cloud handing over his head.

"S–Sakura... How c-could you...?" He rasped in pain.

"It was the most fun I had!" The lies kept coming through her mouth without stopping since Sakura was not only still upset over the fact that her dad broke his promise to her, but also the fact he had the audacity to get mad at someone who did take her to where she wanted to go, she decided to lie to him as revenge.

 _'Harsh...'_ Both Sara and Hiro thought in unison.

"Ack!" He grunted. The cloud getting darker, washing away all the vibrant colors from him and his surroundings as he began to sink into the earth, leaving a large dent on the floor.

 _'Sakura!'_ Sara said in a tone of disbelief towards the little girl who might still be living inside her, hoping the girl could hear her. _'How could you say that your own father? The one who raised and loved you unconditionally! The one who wakes up so early just to make sure you're eating well and happy! The one who gives you everything your heart desires!'_

Sara could feel the angry emotions suddenly shimmer down and vanish, where the only thing she felt now was overwhelming guilt.

"... Sorry, daddy." She looked down in shame. "I was just really sad, and I took it out on you. You don't deserve that after everything you did for me..." She couldn't look up to see her dad's reaction to her words. The shame forcing her head down, and her eyes clenched shut so not to let the tears out.

"I'm really sorry..."

Akio signaled to Hiro that he's free to leave, and watched as the ANBU vanished quickly without a sound. Now, the father was alone with his daughter.

Akio went down to eye level with Sakura and gently held her round cheeks in between his hands.

"Hey, baby girl." He spoke softly. "It's fine, really." Sakura shook her head in denial.

"No, no!" She gazed into his kind and loving eyes with her teary ones. "You always take such good care of me. Remember, when I asked for my room to be pink, you kept trying to put other colors and change my mind, but I always threw a tantrum! I even said no to the wood being any color that's not pink, so you even went as far as to pre-order a handmade pink one that must've cost a fortune!" The memory of that day played in vivid color before her eyes.

Sara wasn't sure where the hell those memories came from all of a sudden, but she was certain without a shred of doubt that they were hers before Sara got into the picture and the feeling of having them back made Sakura realize how wrong she felt without them. It was like she got back something she didn't even realize she was missing.

 _'If this is what it feels like to get back memories that were forgotten, then I hope I get every last piece, just to feel this sense of completion.'_ Sara thought in utter bliss.

Akio stared with wide eyes filled with moisture in them at Sakura.

"Y-you remember?" He said in such a soft tune full of hope that made Sakura run into his arms.

"Un!" She nodded against his firm chest.

 _'Pay no attention to this handsome man holding you,'_ Sara began to herself calmly. _'Nor the fact that you are laying_ _ **directly**_ _over his STRONG chest!_ ' She screeched, mentally covering her burning face with the palm of her hands.

 _'Don't ruin this touching moment with your perverse thoughts, Sara!'_ She chided herself. Trying to observe more of the situation.

"I'm so glad!" Akio cried. "I'm so happy to have my baby back!"

Sara felt a bang of guilt cut into her.

 _'Not... Exactly...'_

"I only remember so little though..." She said softly in guilt.

"And that's enough for me." Akio smiled, his happiness beyond anything she could describe. "It's shows that our memories were not lost completely, and besides..." He planted a loving fatherly kiss onto her forehead. "My little angle is still my baby, with or without her memories, and didn't I say so before? We'll make new memories together each day. Be it good, or bad."

Sakura's chest swelled up with warmth.

"Hopefully good ones." Akio added. "Now, what would you like to eat?" He couldn't even open the refrigerator before Sakura got supper hyper and yelled.

"Soup and carry, with cake as desert!"

"Ya sure you don't want anything different?" He tried changing her mind while looking into his cabinet for ingredients.

 _'I could make something new, like—'_

"CARRY!"

"Holy— JEEZ! OKAY!"

Their former argument laid forgotten. Sakura completely forgetting about what they were talking about as the familiarity of this new life excited and distracted her, while Akio simply didn't care about their petty arguments much.

 _'I'll take her to the park tomorrow as compensation.'_ He promised himself. Smiling as he imagined the multiple ways he could dismember the ANBU who took him baby girl to play with.

 _'He better hope their time together was lousier them ours, or else.'_ Akio smirked evilly to himself, keeping his back to Sakura so she wouldn't notice.

* * *

The next day, in the afternoon, after dressing Sakura up and talking in great details to her about her day, yesterday, Akio finally took Sakura to the park.

Sakura payed rapt attention to the directions her dad takes, and she realized how many turns he kept taking that led to various parts of the village.

She saw shop, fruit stands, small quite places where people just sat to relax, a library that made her perk up, a school that filled her with a sense of foreboding, and even the mall was there in the distance!

And now that he thought about it, when the ANBU was leading her home, they took a much quicker and more efficient route where she couldn't see any of these places. Also, it made her realize how close the park was to her new home, so why was Akio taking her through various routes? She decided to voice her question.

"Oh, you noticed?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "I was hoping you'd recognize some of the places. Ya know, to help jog your memory." He said.

"Even if you didn't remember them, it's better to familiarize yourself with these places, for future purposes."

Sakura nodded her head in understanding. Another thought struck her head a second later, so she turned to ask him about what was on her mind.

"Wait, just how close is the park? Form our house to there?" She explained how quickly she got home from the park thanks to the ANBU's guidance.

Akio twitched in annoyance at the mention of the ANBU, but answered nonetheless.

"Not too far, actually." He said. "Instead of taking a left, just take a right, then take the second turn on your left. It's there."

 _'Seriously!? It's that close!?'_ Sakura's jaws dropped as she mentally calculated the distance.

 _'We're just walking around in a big circle!'_

Akio laughed out loud at his angel's facial expression.

"Sorry, sweetie, but you need to learn those routes. Especially the one to the academy." He smiled. "Not like I wouldn't be there to accompany you each day, but..." _Just in case_.

Sakura shut her mouth at the mention of the academy, and proceeded to go back to observing her new country— _village_ , her mind corrected itself.

 _'The academy...'_ She gave one final anxious look towards that school that was sitting oh so innocently, and turned away.

As soon as they made it to the park, Akio turned to look at Sakura.

"So when are you going to meet your new friend?" He asked.

Sakura gave him a confused look.

"The blonde girl who spoke to yesterday. When are you two meeting, and where? Did you decide on a time?" He elaborated, sweat-dropping at seeing how pale his daughter became.

"Hey, hey," he waved his arms frantically. "It's going to be fine, let's just go to the place you two met and continuously check to see if she's there or not, Kay?" He smiled wirily.

"You remember where that was, right?" Akio really hoped she did. He didn't want to go on a wild goose chase to look for a little blond girl all day instead of playing with his baby girl.

"Uh," Sakura nodded, looking around. "Y-yeah, it was... Oh! There!" She suddenly pointed, and sprinted towards the direction she pointed at, with Akio not too far away.

Fortunately, the place Sakura came to was defiantly the place she cried her little heart out in. Unfortunately, there was no blonde girl to be seen.

"It's fine." Akio comforted her. "Let's just play together as we wait for her. She'll defiantly come!"

 _'She better.'_ He thought with a hint of pain promised should the day turn out for the worse to his little baby. Akio didn't give a crap about the girl being just an ignorant child, if she dares to crush Sakura's heart, then there will be consequences.

Of course, he wouldn't lift a finger on her seeing as he would never beat a little child, buuuuuut~ Genjutsu was the perfect option, and it worked far more efficiently than any beating.

 _'Destroying someone mentally is much crueler that destroying them physically. The wounds of the body heals over time, yet those inflicted on the mind will never truly heal. A broken mind equals a dead body that still breaths.'_ He thought with experience.

 _'Of course, I don't intent to break her, a slight scare is enough of a lesson.'_

Both Akio and Sakura spent their time together playing, until Sakura began laughing happily and forgetting all her fears and worries.

Akio assured Sakura that she doesn't have to worry about missing her new potential friend seeing as he secretly left a shadow clone to observe who came and whatnot, so they both spent their time acting— to Akio — much younger that he was, and— to Sakura — just like her physical age.

As they were playing together with her dad making her laugh, Sakura noticed a couple of parents and women staring at them, especially Akio with large smiles on their faces. Creepily, it was the woman who were staring at her dad that caught her attention. They were gazing at him with half lidded, misty eyes, and idiotic smiles on their faces. Not to mention their cheeks were dusted pink.

 _'Wow...'_ Was all she could think. What did she expect? Those were women who obviously loved families, and seeing such an attractive man wholeheartedly devoting himself to pleasing his child without a care about anyone's opinion on how degrading he is acting was something that made _Sara_ swoon. So she could see why they were acting the way they were, but that didn't mean she was going to accept it.

"C'mon." Akio gave Sakura a gentle push, then gave her a teasing smile as he saw her confused expression. "Don't you want to see your new friend~?"

Sakura's expression instantly brightened as she dashed towards the direction she knew by heart, even though she only went there twice.

"Cute..." Akio chuckled to himself, and thought of what he should do to himself.

"Ooh, Haruno-kuuuun~" a feminine voice called out a little behind him.

 _'Follow my baby? Why not?'_ He nodded to himself and ran like the devil was on his heels, ignoring whatever screams he _defiantly_ didn't hear behind him.

* * *

"There~" a girl with blonde hair stepped back, showing Sakura to be wearing a nice shade of red ribbon that nicely decorated the side of her head, holding her bangs together.

"As I thought, the ribbon looks great on you!" The blonde girl clapped happily with a self-satisfied look.

"Thank you." Sakura bowed politely in thanks, her cheeks dusted pink.

"No need for that." The girl waved her off. "It's what friends do."

Sakura's eyes widened in astonishment.

 _'Friends...'_ It was the first time someone officially called themselves her friend, and that feeling of happiness filled her very being with warmth as she smiled brightly.

"Yeah!" She nodded happily.

"Oh!" the girl's eyes suddenly opened widely, and she laughed sheepishly. "I forgot to introduce myself~ my name is Yamanaka Ino. It's nice meeting you again Sakura-chan~" she winked.

Sakura froze up momentarily as her brain finally decided to wake up and put the puzzles in place.

 _'How idiotic am I!?'_ Sara screamed, hitting herself repeatedly on the head. _'How the hell did I not make the connection that this was Ino Yamanaka!? It was SO obvious that answer was practically in my face!'_

Outwardly, Sakura smiled a weak smile, trying not to show how frazzled she was inside.

 _'It doesn't matter.'_ Sakura thought. _'I have a friend now~!'_

 _'A friend that will get us killed! What is it with you and meeting dangerous people?'_ Sara retorted, but she was ignored.

"I want you to meet my other friends." Ino suddenly said, pulling Sakura along. "You'll like them... Maybe..."

Sakura felt her stomach twist in nervousness as she was taken to wherever Ino's friends were.

"Oh, there they are~ Heeeey~!" Ino loudly called to a small group of kids, waving to drag they're attention. "I made a new friend!"

"Ino-chan!" A girl with short brown hair greeted cheerfully as they got close enough, then gave Sakura a curious look with large sparkling orange eyes that reminded Sakura of the sun.

Actually, the girl was more like staring at Sakura's hair.

"Wooooooah~ that ribbon is so cuuuuuuute~!" She squealed loudly, rushing to Sakura's side to gush over her hair and the ribbon tied like a bow.

"So cute, so cute, so cuuuuuuute~" Sakura was restrained by the excited girl's arms as she was hugged.

"T-thank... You?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's cute, but isn't it impolite to hug a stranger all of the sudden?" Ino smiled in amusement.

"Oh!" The girl let go of Sakura and gave a quick and quirky bow. "My name is Haruka Baba! But you can call me Haru!" Haru gave her an expecting look.

 _'_ _Baba…?_ _'_

"M-my name is Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you—"

"Oops," Haru suddenly cut her off. "My bad, it's Baba Haru! I always misplace the names since my name is Haru, so I use my name first~!" Haruka blabbed excitedly. Taking with so much energy, it made Sakura dizzy just trying to keep up with her.

"It fine!" Sakura called loudly over Haru's incessant chatter. "It happens to me too, sometimes!"

"COOL!" Haru gave her another hug. "We're so alike! We might as well be sisters!" She grinned a wide childish grin, showing a gap indicating a missing tooth.

"Call me Haru-nee-chan~!"

"O-ok, Haru-nee-chan..." Sakura smiled awkwardly.

"Hey, Haru, stop hogging the new girl all to yourself!" A boyish voice called out. Sakura tried to look past Haru's shoulders to one talking, but the position she was in made it very hard to see.

"Awwww~ but Haru wants to hold her Onee-chan a little moooore~" Haru spoke in third person, letting go of Sakura reluctantly.

"She's so huggable~ so nice and soft and smells really, really niiiice~" Haru swooned.

"I got it." The same voice said, but now, Sakura could see the speaker clearly.

It was a young boy with soft looking raven colored hair that nicely framed his puffy cheeks. His eyes were grey in color, and very shiny to the point Sakura could swear she could see her reflection in them, and his expression was set into an inpatient frown.

"Hello," she smiled widely, feeling confident after such a welcoming greeting from Haru. "My name is Haruno Sakura~!" She inched her head forward in a small bow.

"I know." He said blankly. "I'm Fuse Handa. Nice to meet you Sakura-chan." Sakura raised her hand for a handshake, but she was surprised to see Handa ignore her extended arm and step uncomfortably closer to her.

"Eek!" She gave a small squeak as she felt his arms circle around her and pull her into an embrace.

 _Ba-bump._

 _Ba-bump._

 _Ba-bump._

 _Ba-bump._

"Mmm... She really does smell nice."

 _Ba-bump. Ba-bump._

 _Ba-bump. Ba-bump._

 _Ba-bump. Ba-bump._

Sakura let out a sigh of relief as finally after what felt like an eternity, Handa dropped his arms and took a step back.

 _'_ _That was awkward…_ _'_

"MY TURN!" Sakura turned, only to catch a glimpse of someone hurdling towards her, and she instinctively took a step to the side out of fear of being hit, causing that blur to fall down front first into the grass next to her.

"Haha!" Handa gave a bark of laughter as the figure slowly rose up while clenching onto their nose.

"Owwwie~ that huuuurt~"

"Serves you right." Both Ino and Handa spoke in unison, causing the figure, whom turned out to be a boy, to whine at the betrayal.

"Hehehe." Haru simply giggled at the show put before her.

"Anyways—" the boy was suddenly directly face to face with her, grinning a wide smile that vaguely reminded Sakura of one Uzumaki Naruto. She noticed with slight humor and guilt how red his nose and forehead was.

 _'Ouch, sorry~'_ She mentally apologized.

"Hi! My name is Fujiwara Aito! Nice to meet ya, Sakura-chan~!" He trusted his arm out for a handshake, which Sakura gladly shook.

 _'His hand is warm.'_ She couldn't help smiling as it reminded her of her young baby cousin.

 _'I miss my family...'_

A clap snapped Sakura back to attention before she could succumb to her depressing thoughts.

"Now that everybody's introduced, let's play!" Ino said happily. Glad to see Sakura getting accustomed to her friends that were from a non-ninja families.

 _'Maybe one day I'll introduce her to Shika, and Cho~'_

"What do you guys wanna play?"

"Ninja!" Aito cheered.

"I wanna play on the monkey bars!" Haru jumped up and down acting like a monkey herself.

"Side and seek for me." Handa said calmly.

"Argh, come _on_!" Haru groaned, along with Aito.

"Yeah! You just wanna play hide an' seek as an excuse to be lazy and maybe sleep!" Aito pointed accusingly at Handa.

"Yeah, so?" Handa said. "I'm tired."

"You're always tired!" Haru retorted.

"I'm always training." He countered. "Unlike some people."

"Who?" Both Aito and Haru said at the same time, wearing the same confused expression.

Sakura couldn't help herself from laughing, the situation was too funny for her to handle.

"Looks like we're in a pickle." Ino said after composing her giggles.

"Pickles..." Haru said, drooling, while Aito simply crunched his nose up in disdain.

"I don't like pickles."

"That means someone will have to vote on what game we play, and I'm telling you now, at person is not going to be me." Ino said, giving the pink haired girl a look that said, "Go on."

Sakura gulped as everyone gave her expecting looks.

"Don't worry." Ino put an arm on Sakura's tense shoulder. "No one will be mad, it's just your choice to make seeing as each day a person chooses which game we'll all play." She explained.

"You can choose from what they gave, or whatever you want."

"Umm..." Sakura began contemplating.

From what she recalled of playing Ninja with Naruto, it was a pretty fun game, but so was hide and seek, and building sand castles. Usually, she'd choose Tag, seeing as it's such a popular game from her world, yet playing Ninja was the same thing, so it's the one she wants to go with, but...

Sakura cast a look to Handa.

 _'He said he was tired. That he was training...'_ Sakura almost forgot that she was in a ninja world where children are taught to fight from a young age, and now that she thought about it, it kind of made sense that some children were a bit more mature and experienced from a young age.

Handa noticed the concerned look Sakura quickly shot him. His mind instantly put two in two, noticing how her gaze drifted from him to Aito in a way an inexperienced person wouldn't notice, and he sighed.

"Now that I think of it, I could go one round of playing Ninja." He said in boredom. Feeling his cheek gradually grow warm from the bright relieved smile given to him by Sakura.

"I wanna play Ninja!" She chirped, causing Aito to cheer loudly and boastfully danced around a pouting Haru. He attempts to tackle Sakura in happiness, yet failed thanks to Haru tripping him in retaliation to his earlier boast.

"OW!"

"Oops, that was an accident~" Haru sang with a fake innocent expression on her face.

"LIER!"

"Oh my," Haru grabbed her heart in mock hurt. "I'd never!"

"Stop acting like your mom!" Aito humphed.

"He he he~"

* * *

Akio, meanwhile, was sitting on a tree near his angel's new friends, very happy for his daughter.

Let's not go into details about the camera in his hand.

"My baby is growing up~" he coed, snapping a quick picture.

Really, Akio was very happy for his daughter, but that didn't lessen the **rage** he felt when those boys hugged his little innocent bubblegum.

 _'How_ _ **dare**_ _those little— I'll_ _ **kill**_ _—'_

"Calm down, Akio." He said to himself, taking many deep breaths. "Be happy for Sakura. Be happy for our baby."

If someone were to see him, they'd be horrified at noticing the _veeeeeery_ sharp kunai Akio was holding in his right hand, while his left was tightly clasped around his weapon equipped and blood hungry arm as restraint.

* * *

 **~~~~~In The Next Episode~~~~~**

Sakura felt her eyes twitch, but she managed to restrained herself. All the while, ignoring the urge to run away. She still wasn't completely used to being approached and spoken to abruptly, but the past week filled with a clingy father and friends made her gain a little bit of confidence into her jumpy body. Not much, in Sara's opinion, but just enough to make sure she doesn't start crying like a pathetic infant the moment someone looks at her curiously.

It really was pathetic, and Sara is glad she is past that.

"It's polite to introduce yourself after another does..." She paused for the boy to get the hint, and seeing his cheeks redden slightly told her that he has, thankfully.

"M-my name is Uchiha Sasuke." He puffed his chest in pride after saying his name, then gave her an expecting, yet weary look.

"Yes, yes. That's nice, so how can I help you?" She said instead, completely ignoring his name and feeling impatient seeing as she was hoping to find a certain blonde boy, but instead she finds a dark haired one who refuses to leave her alone. The least he could do was say what he wanted to say and leave her alone to finish her book. She was in a completely different world with different history and a different law, and she planned to at least prepare herself so that she might not mess up and get herself in deep trouble thanks to her lack of knowledge.

"You're not screaming?" Sasuke stared at her with a pondering look.

 _'Or for the love of_ _— take a hint!'_

"And _why_..." She sighed in exasperation. "Would I?"

"I don' know, but every girl does."

"Wooooow..." Sakura drawled sarcastically.


	10. Trying to Hold On

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 10: Trying to hold on_

* * *

"So, what do you wanna do, today?" Ino asked Sakura as they were walking together around the park.

"Don' know..." Sakura hummed in thought.

"And both Aito-kun and Haru-chan are still sick, while Handa-kun still haven't said anything, so I would wait for them to join us."

Ino nodded in agreement.

"Well, Handa-kun is likely just training, so there's nothing to worry about. He's older than us by what? Two years? Maybe three? And I heard he wants to graduate early, so he's working very hard to show he is ready to move forwards." Ino winked at Sakura.

"Oh..." Sakura said lamely. She didn't know that, and even wondered if Handa was ready to become a Shinobi.

 _'I don't even know their age. I just assumed they'd be the same age as me, or a little older.'_ Sakura felt troubled.

 _'And Handa... He's just a little boy, and yet he wants to become a Shinobi? An assassin?'_ She frowned at the thought. Handa may come out to be cold and indifferent, but he was always gentle with Sakura and soft spoken. He was well mannered, and considerate of people, so Sakura couldn't imagine that little sweet boy as someone who would one day take away people's lives like it was nothing.

"Hey," Ino took a hold of Sakura's arm and gave a light, but firm squeeze. "It'll be fine. Just give them time, and soon you'll see those idiots bouncing back like they were never gone in the first place!" She smiled encouragingly, happy to see the upset look vanish from the pink haired girl's face.

"They are 'idiots', but Handa is defiantly not one." Sakura giggled, but stopped as she saw Ino smirk mischievously at her.

" _Handa_ , ey~ no 'kun' added~" Sakura felt her face heat up at the suggestive tone. " _And_ you even went to defend him! Saying your precious _Handa_ is oh _so_ smart~"

"INO!" Sakura screamed at the laughing girl. "That's not what— I _don't_ — h-hey! _Stop laughing_!"

Sakura covered her burning face with her hands. It wasn't her fault, she wasn't used to adding suffixes to people's names yet, so her little attempt at a joke about her two childish and sometimes dumb friends ended up backfiring at her.

"Oh~ I'm sorry~" Ino giggled. "I was only teasing~"

"That was awful." Sakura gave her friend a glare, but she was smiling, so it ruined the effect of it.

Sakura really liked Ino. Of course, she liked Aito, Haru, and Handa as well, but Ino had a special place in Sakura's heart. Maybe because she was the first to approach and befriend Sakura, or even because Sara felt like she could be herself a little with the blonde girl who could hold an intelligent conversation for a five-year-old. Whatever the reason may be, it didn't lessen the fact that Ino was her favorite friend. Her best friend some would say.

It's been about a week since Sakura became friends with Ino and the three others, and slowly, Sara found herself fitting in with the new world and her new body. Although, she wasn't completely used to it, it did feel much better and she grew more accustomed to it than the first few days.

Additionally, Sakura began to understand her new father more, and she felt more comfortable with having him so close and personal with her. She summed it up to being his personality, and the way he showed his daughter love and affection, so Sara has decided to not let that affect her too much.

"I know!" Ino suddenly said brightly. "Since we never have such free time to just sit back and relax—" Sakura had to restrain her giggles that were threatening to escape as she realized Ino was talking about their hyperactive friends. "— I vote that us girl find a nice, quiet and relaxing spot to lay on, and do whatever the heck we want! All in favor~?" Ino raised her hand to the air, which Sakura seconded.

"Aye~"

"Then onwards to find our land!"

Both the little girls dashed forwards, going deeper inside the park where the surrounding changed to one only filled with grass as far as the eye could see.

They found a nice hill to relax on, and sat on their back, soaking in their surroundings. They sat there in comfortable silence, gazing up at the large puffy clouds floating up in the sky so leisurely.

They sat there in comfortable silence picking out shapes made by the clouds.

"... You know..." Ino began a few minutes later, not tearing her eyes from a certain cloud she was following intently from how much it reminded her of someone she knew very well.

"Hm?" Sakura gave Ino a look, prompting the blonde to continue.

"This is nice." She said with a soft smile. "Only a few days ago, you were crying alone, with such a lonely look too." Sakura felt her face heat up slightly, but said nothing. She decided to let Ino finish what she wanted to say without interruption.

"And now, look at you." Ino turned to look at Sakura. "You're smiling and laughing, and just being so happy. Like a flower." Sakura sat up slowly to get a better look at Ino's face. She was confused at the strange compression, feeling like she was about to hear something of significance coming from the young blonde's mouth.

"A flower?"

 _'I think... I think I know where this is going...'_

"Yeah!" Ino grinned. "You looked so depressed, like a flower that is about to die and needed watering, and after being watered, you bloomed into a beautiful rose!"

 _'Oh...'_

"Oh... T-thank you?" Sakura smiled uncertainly. Feeling bashful at the sudden compliment. Those words sparked a memory that was long forgotten since it was irrelevant to Sara before.

 _'Wasn't Ino supposed to say that part about becoming a flower and whatnot in Chunin? I'm not sure when precisely, but it wasn't supposed to be this early on, that's for certain.'_

"It was all thanks to you!" Sakura gave Ino a wide smile. "You came to me, and helped me out when I was feeling down. You even offered your hand in friendship, while giving me more friends in the process, so... Thank you very much for everything!" Sakura bowed her head in appreciation. Her smile never wavering. It was thanks to Ino that Sara was beginning to fit into this life and gain control of her body plus information on the village. It's great having someone who could help her when she is lacking something without them thinking differently of her.

"See~?" Ino said pointedly. "Just like a beautiful flower~ and you're welcome~"

Afterwards, they both got bored of just sitting around and watching the clouds, so they decided to go and do something else with their time.

"Not like I don't get enough of it, anyways." Ino grumbled. Mumbling about some lazy boy who spends all his free time don't literally nothing. Sakura just stared at Ino with a tilted head until the blond calmed down enough for them to think about what they wanted to do.

In the end, they both decided to play informative games like truth or dare, where they mostly chose 'truth', and asked 21 questions. By the end of it, they knew a lot more about each other than they did before, and Sakura couldn't help but feel like they both grew closer together seeing as this was their first time being alone together without any companions. Sara tried to ask questions that related to the new world she suddenly woke up in, but somehow she instead asked questions about Ino like 'what's her favorite color?' and 'where does she live?' so that they could know if they lived close by to each other.

And they did.

* * *

That night, Sakura informed her dad that she will be waking up early to go to the park, but she didn't tell him the reason for it.

Akio felt hesitate, torn between letting his baby girl go alone, or following her like he always did when she began leaving to go to the park, but he agreed to let her go in the end after careful thinking.

Akio recalled how Sakura began asking to go to the park every single day, and seeing how that never failed to make her happy and brighten up the whole day, he agreed to comply with her wishes and toke her there, but these days, he kept getting frequent messages and summons by the Hokage.

Of course, that greatly frustrated Akio seeing as he felt like he was being denied his time with his baby and he made sure to remind the Hokage that every time. Akio thought about leaving Sakura to stay home until he came home, because he didn't want to call in someone who might mistreat his angel, but he also couldn't just leave her alone to her own devices, so Akio eventually agreed on letting Sakura go to the park on her own after her constantly begging him while using the feared 'Moe' Jutsu on him full blast.

The first few times, Akio persisted on following Sakura in secret. He pretended to be busy, then went on trailing her to check and see if there were any complications, or concerns around her. Fortunately, there never were, and those sessions showed him how mature and independent Sakura has suddenly became, and so he felt much better about letting her leave the house on her own without having a clone on her trail 27/7 like before the incident.

At least this way Sakura will learn to depend more on herself for... future purposes.

Akio felt better about his decision, but not by much.

"Only to the park, then back!" He demanded firmly.

"No going anywhere else while I'm not there with you, understand?"

"Un, okay." Sakura easily agreed. Planning on listening since she still wasn't used to the village, and she could understand his fear perfectly. To be truthful, Sakura was surprised to hear that her dad agreed to even letting her leave the house alone, but she was still glad, nonetheless to have efficiently persuaded him into giving her some much needed space.

The next morning, Sakura woke up nice and early, took a relaxing warm shower, then changed into something 'casual'. She wore a long sleeved, lace shirt that had many attractive and elegant flower designs on it. The shirt was almost see through on her arms, but from the chest down, it was covered nicely by a thin material.

Sakura grabbed a light pink long flowing skirt that went a little under her knee to go with her shirt, and under the skirt she wore knee length tights to go with the skirt.

Reaching out, Sakura then grabbed her brush and ran it gently through her short pink hair, she then split them in equal halves and proceeded to bride her hair. As a finishing touch, she made a bow from the ribbon Ino gave her, and placed it atop of her head, making it hold her bangs up and away from her eyes.

"Oh... My... Lord..." Akio breathed as he saw Sakura come down the stairs. "Sweetheart, you look like an angel." He brushed a stray hair from her large emerald eyes, and smiled.

"Thank you~" Sakura curtsied; mimicking the Disney princesses she saw from the memories of Sara.

 _'SO CUUUUUUTE~!'_ Akio gushed over his dazzling daughter.

"It's time I leave, daddy." Sakura noticed her dad was distracted and in cloud nine, therefor she decided it was time for her to leave.

"Yes~ of cour— WAIT A MINUTE!" Sakura froze as Akio rounded on to her.

 _'Is he going to argue—'_

"You didn't eat your breakfast! Come along~" he pushed her towards the kitchen, where she now noticed the smell of something nice and familiar.

"Here." He handed her a large sandwich, which she instantly took a large bite of.

"Yummy~" she mumbled in awe through her food. She didn't understand how Akio could make the simplest of things into something astonishing, but she really wasn't complaining.

 _'When you get fat, then you'll be sorry.'_ A part of Sakura said sullenly.

 _'Shut up, let me enjoy this while I can.'_

Sakura spotted a basket on the table and grew curious.

"*gulp* what's that?" She pointed towards the basket.

"Hm? Oh, I made some more sandwiches and put a few drinks in there. In case you of your friends get hungry~"

"Thank you." Sakura smiled widely. She'll be sure as hell to eat them.

 _'Fatty.'_

 _'Hey! I'll share!'_

"Well, you're leaving early today, and I'm worried about you getting hungry. I might not finish early today, so have fun out there~"

 _'Meaning I won't be stalki— following you, or coming after an hour or so with food and drinks.'_ Akio thought, feeling his heart squeeze in pain, but he tried to not show it and ignore the raging demon inside him, shouting at him to be there for their kin and protect them.

 _'It's fine.'_ He tried to reassure himself. _'Sakura is doing so well on her lonesome. She never once let us down, and everyone knows not to harm her physically or mentally...'_

 ** _'... Or they will be begging for the sweet embrace of death.'_**

That still didn't lessen the absolute terror from engraving into his heart. The fear of something going wrong while he is not there.

"Finished? Good! Good bye, baby girl~! I have something I have to do!" Akio rushed out of the kitchen, and Sakura could hear him slamming his bedroom door shut rather loudly.

 _'What's gotten into him?'_

Sakura blinked in surprise at her father's strangeness, but she quickly shrugged it off as another thing that was considered 'normal'.

 _'He's always weird, anyways. There's no reason for me to worry about him.'_ She grabbed the basket and walked to her front door, easily slipping her shoes on and opening the door.

Sakura walked down the pavement contently, then paused. She turned around to look up through the window towards her father's room, to see him standing there watching her with eyes void of life and color. She blinked, and saw he was smiling widely at her and waving exuberantly, like his very life depended on it.

She smiled in amusement, and gave a tiny wave back.

 _'I must have imagined that look.'_ She tried to recall the look on her usually ecstatic father's face, but came up blank as his excited farewell towards her filled her mind and heart.

"I really like him." She whispered to herself. Turning a corner and power walking to the park.

As Sakura got there, her eyes instantly zoomed into the park's swings, but she grew disappointed as she saw three kids hogging it. She wasn't upset over not being able to play on the swings freely, she was mostly upset at not finding the blonde boy who was the first ever person to play with her, and Sakura's first friend. Sara guessed he was her first friend, too. Her first ever _boy_ friend.

"Not here..." She grumbled. Disheartened.

Sakura was constantly on the lookout for the blonde, yet she was always disappointed when she realized he wasn't there. Today, she woke up extra early and came to the park for the sole reason of finding him, but he wasn't there.

 _'Now what?_ ' She looked around herself. There weren't much people in the park seeing as it was seven in the morning, so Sakura had many options on where to go, but truthfully, she didn't feel like playing games at the moment.

In the end, Sakura chose a tree that provided a nice shade to sit under. She placed her basket to the side, and took out an informative book to read as she waited. Hopeful as she waits, maybe the blonde boy will show up.

The book was thick and divided into sections Sara found very interesting. History, which contained the beginning of Chakra, the great Shinobi's war, the founding of Konoha, Chakra as a whole, and many more that Sara wasn't expecting to find. There was a lot a read, so Sakura decided to begin reading about the one think that she found to be very essential seeing as she was now living in this world.

Chakra.

It took a while for Sakura to get really invested, but the information surrounding the strange energy known as Chakra got her really worked up and forget her surroundings as she tried to comprehend what she was reading

* * *

Chakra is said to be the spiritual substance that helps the body achieve the supposed impossible. The origin of Chakra was found long ago and belonged to the God Tree, and the first person to wield Chakra was Kaguys Ōtsutsuki.

There are seven main Chakra, which align starting from the base of the spine towards the top of the head. They are swirling wheels of invisible energy (Sometimes visible to those who possess raw Chakra power) which are the vital life force that keep everything alive and healthy. Each of the seven main Chakras contain bundles of nerves and has a major role in a person's spiritual, emotional and psychological state.

There are various elements used through powering Chakra. Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning. There are many more ways people use their chakra with training, and sometimes the practice of two or more elements can give birth to another element and sometimes a Bloodline limit. Many people have experimented on Chakra, using Water and Wind to create Ice, Fire and Earth to create Magma, and so on. Others thought of ways to make a certain element stronger. For example, Fire combined with wind will only make the Fire burn stronger, and Fire should never come together with Water for they are opposite elements. There are many Elements that aren't compatible, and some that are, or that is what people assumed.

Chakra is unpredicted, and people have yet to uncover all there is to know about this tricky energy. There is more to it than meets the eyes.

 _Rustle. Rustle._

* * *

 _Rustle. Rustle._

Sakura startled up from her book as she heard the sound of leaves rustling near her. She gazed intently at the moving bushes a few feet away from her, holding her breath in anticipation.

 _'Who could it be?'_ Her question was soon answered as she saw a little boy, probably the same age as her physically, burst out of the bushes and then proceeds to comically fall on his front.

The boy was wearing a deep blue shirt, with dark pants. He looked up and Sakura felt mesmerized by his large innocent black eyes and fair complexion.

He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

They both sat there in silence. Neither doing anything but observing the other.

"Umm..." Sakura began awkwardly at the intense look the little boy was giving her. "Are you okay?"

"Oh!" The boy stood up and was instantly in front of her. Invading her personally bubble.

"I'm fine!" He assured her, then gazed pointedly at her hair. "You have pretty hair."

 _'_ _Well that escalated quickly.'_

Sakura turned the same shade as mentioned hair, causing the boy to gaze in wonder at her face now.

"Woah, it's pink~" he laughed, pointing at her face with a barely hidden cheeky grin.

"Sh-shut up!" Sakura covered her face in embarrassment. Why was this happening to her now? Why is it always her who gets embarrassed? God, choose someone else to torment and leave her alone!

"It's pretty." He said. Staring hard at her. "You're really pretty."

 _'_ _Excuse me!?'_

"A-ah..." Sakura gazed down in defeat. Her eyes turning into swirls as she tried to gather her disarrayed thoughts.

 _'How unsettling this boy is! He's too direct for his own good!'_

"Okay!" Sakura huffed indignantly. "What do you want?" She said straightforwardly. Whatever he wanted to say, he could say it now without cutting corners. She didn't want to be complimented by a silly boy, just so he could butter her up and then expect her to do whatever he wanted her to do.

"Well?" She crossed her arms.

The boy frowned his brows in thought.

"But I don' want anything. I have my Nii-San." He said in confusion, with a proud smile on his face at the mention of his 'Nii-san'.

"I was just surprised. Your hair is very pretty~ and so are you! You don't scream loudly, and you're face kinda reminds me of my Nii-San!" He grinned happily.

"What?" Sakura was stumped at the boy's respond, then she physically slapped herself on the forehead as she recalled the fact that children, even boys of five years old defiantly did not have any dark ulterior motive when they say things. On the contrary, they are too direct, to the point where they would give their honest opinions even though their opinions were something that shouldn't be said.

"God, I feel so stupid now." She whispered to herself, then gave the kindest smile she could muster up to the boy after everything that has happened between them. Gosh, she really felt bad for jumping to conclusions and acting like a jackass to a little kid.

"Sorry, I guess I was startled more than I originally assumed." She bowed her head in apology. "My name is Haruno Sakura, what's your name?"

"Oh!" The boy's eyes widened. "You even sound like him! You both talk like grown-ups!"

Sakura felt her eyes twitch, but she managed to restrained herself. All the while, ignoring the urge to run away. She still wasn't completely used to being approached and spoken to abruptly, but the past week filled with a clingy father and friends made her gain a little bit of confidence into her jumpy body. Not much, in Sara's opinion, but just enough to make sure she doesn't start crying like a pathetic infant the moment someone looks at her curiously.

It really was pathetic, and Sara is glad she is past that.

"It's polite to introduce yourself after another does..." She paused for the boy to get the hint, and seeing his cheeks redden slightly told her that he has, thankfully.

"M-my name is Uchiha Sasuke." He puffed his chest in pride after saying his name, then gave her an expecting, yet weary look.

"Yes, yes. That's nice, so how can I help you?" She said instead, completely ignoring his name and feeling impatient seeing as she was hoping to find a certain blonde boy, but instead she finds a dark haired one who refuses to leave her alone. The least he could do was say what he wanted to say and leave her alone to finish her book. She was in a completely different world with different history and a different law, and she planned to at least prepare herself so that she might not mess up and get herself in deep trouble thanks to her lack of knowledge.

"You're not screaming?" Sasuke stared at her with a pondering look.

 _'Or for the love of_ _—_ _take a hint!'_

"And _why_..." She sighed in exasperation. "Would I?"

"I don' know, but every girl does."

"Wooooow..." Sakura drawled sarcastically.

"You're different!" He suddenly proclaimed. "I can tell!"

Sakura felt her annoyance slowly dwindle, until all she felt was minor amusement. She was vaguely reminded of her young cousin from her father's side.

"And I'm sure you're special as well." She rolled her eyes at his bright and pure smile.

 _'How charming. He will obviously be a heartbreaker when he's older.'_ She couldn't help but think in amusement.

"Ano..." Sakura gave Sasuke her full attention as she saw his shift nervously to the side. "May I?"

"May you what?"

"Your hair..." He pointed at her hair shyly. "May I touch it?"

Had he not said it so adorably, then Sakura was sure she would have blown up. She could feel herself tensing up as he pointed at her hair, but his shy and innocent posture kept her grounded.

At least he didn't mention her forehead. That was still a touchy subject, even though Sara didn't see anything peculiar about it.

"I-I'm sorry! Please f-forget—" Sasuke said frantically as he saw how long it took her to answer. He was worried about upsetting the first ever girl whom treated him 'normally', just like how his brother would treat him. It was not Sasuke's intentions to upset her.

"Go ahead." Sakura cut in. Tilting her head towards him.

Sasuke cheered happily, and slowly reached his hands forwards to grab a strand of her hair. He grabbed a strand between his fingers, and lightly strokes it, as if it was something delicate.

Sakura smiled at the boy's endearing actions. She found him to be very endearing.

"It's so soft..." He breathed. His gaze sharp as he stared deeply into her pink hair, looking like he was trying hard to figure out what makes it so pink.

"Okay, I—" Sakura's breath hitched, and she forgot all she was planning to say as Sasuke brought up one of his hand to cup Sakura's full cheek, and another ran itself through her bangs. Setting it free from the ribbon holding it in place and slowly running down the side until it reached the tip of her hair.

"A-ah..." Sakura trembled in shock. Her face a cherry red in color.

"Oh, you're red!" Sasuke's face was only a few inches away from her own face as he said that.

"Do you have a fever?" He came closer to her and laid his forehead directly on top of hers.

 _Ba-Bump._

"It doesn't burn much..." He frowned his brows in thought.

 _Ba-Bump._

 _'T-t-t-to...'_

Sasuke breathed then stopped.

"Hey, you smell really nice!" He commented bluntly. "It's like—"

 _'_ _Nope.'_

Sakura's hands came up against his chest, and she pushed. Hard.

"OOMPH!" He exclaimed as he landed on the ground.

"You're too close and weird!" Sakura shouted in anger. Her face glowing from how red it was.

"You didn't have to push me so hard!" He retorted angrily. "And I'm not weird!"

"Then what the heck was that!?"

"I-if anyone is weird, it's you!" Sasuke shouted, but quickly regretted it as he saw the anger vanish from Sakura's eyes and her eyes begin to water.

 _'Oh, HELL no! Don't you dare cry! Don't you even DARE!_ ' She grits her teeth.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" Sasuke began waving frantically, looking at her with a panicked face.

"I-I'm not crying!" Sakura denied, wiping her moist eyes with her sleeves to get rid of the evidence of what could have happened.

"... I'm sorry..." Sakura looked up to see that Sasuke's face was disheartened, matching his voice.

Her embarrassment was instantly gone as her eyes softened at the sight.

"It's fine." She sighed. The fight completely drained out of her. "I'm sorry too. You know... For pushing you like that." She held out her hand to him for a handshake.

"Truce?"

Sasuke tilted his head to the left. "Truce?"

"That means peace." Sasuke made a face of understanding and took her hand.

"Then peace! 'Truce'!" He proclaimed happily.

"So we're friends now, right?"

'No' was forming in Sakura's mouth, but the hopeful look in Sasuke's face made her change her mind. Especially after nearly making him cry and acting like a jerk all over again.

"Sure." She said instead. What harm will it do?

 _'Hey, stupid, do you even realize who he is?'_

 _'Duh he said his name is Sasuke— oh...'_

Oh indeed. Sara realized she completely ignored the boy's name when he introduced himself to her. Not really ignored, more like honestly didn't care much of, and that, along with the obliviousness that came with 'child Sakura' made her completely forget that this very boy was someone who will become her greatest enemy— seeing how arrogant and self-centered he becomes —, and eventually Canon Sakura's husband.

A shiver went up and down Sakura's body as she froze with a hollow smile on her face.

"Yay—! I mean, cool! Great!" Sasuke cheered, looking like he was about to give her a hug from how excited he got, but he managed to hold himself back at the last minute and tried to play it cool.

"Not many people manage to be my friend." He said arrogantly.

 _'It has begun. The infamous Uchiha superiority.'_

"If that's the case, maybe I should leave." She deadpanned. "Wouldn't want to ruin your reputation." She turned to leave, but was held back as she felt Sasuke grab her by the shoulders crying in denial.

"No!"

"What now—?" Sakura turned in annoyance at Sasuke's aggressive hold, but froze at his panicked look.

"I-I was just kidding! You won't be a— you won't ruin a-anything! Haha!" He laughed nervously. Trying to clearly explain himself to her.

Translation: _"you won't ruin my reputation, and I don't care, so please be my friend."_

 _'Crap.'_

"*sigh*... I was joking~" she smiled angelically towards the distressed boy, causing his nervous look to change into a happy one.

"Okay~!" Sasuke grins brightly. "Anyways, about my Nii-San—"

"Oh lord..." Sakura sighed as Sasuke went on to talking about his 'great' brother.

 _'This is going to be a long day.'_ Sakura reopened her book and began reading. Nodding every once in a while, to show Sasuke that she was listening, hoping he would soon lose interest in her and leave. It's for the best.

* * *

 **~~~~~In The Next Episode~~~~~**

"Well, it was nice meeting you! See you in the future... one day…" She began confidently, but ended softly since she didn't really want the kid to think she was insincere. She _did_ enjoy his company a bit, he kept the boredom away.

"Oh, trust me. We will meet again~! You live with Akio-san neighboring this very park~ I am guaranteed to bringing Sasuke for a playdate someday close to today, so there is no need to feel so down~." Sakura looked at Mikoto with her jaws dropped as the woman walked away with Sasuke waving goodbye excitedly back at her. Mikoto turned around and gave Sakura a knowing look.

 _'_ _Shit.'_ Sakura flushed red. She was caught in her attempts to lure Sasuke away from her for life. Mikoto _knew_ , and wasn't going to let that happen. Sara knew she was _royally_ screwed.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She groaned to herself, ready to leave with her future of living a normal life cut to pieces thanks to a strange matchmaking mother.

"I don' know, but it sure looks—as the Nara's would say: troublesome." Sakura jumped up in the air at the unexpected playful voice behind her. She turned sharply to see a boy older than her giving her a playful grin. He was pale and has curly black hair and eyes. His eyes were slightly swollen, signifying he was someone who slept rarely, and next to him was another boy smiling politely at her. Sakura met him before.

"A-ah!" Sakura cried out in surprise, fumbling as she tried to give a proper greeting.

"Hello, Sakura-san." He greeted her with a nod.

"H-hello... O-onii—I mean Itachi-san!" Her face grew red at what she was about to call the older boy.


	11. There's Nothing to Hold Onto!

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 11: There's nothing to hold onto!_

* * *

"I can control my destiny, but not my fate. Destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left, but fate is a one-way street. I believe we all have the choice as to whether we fulfill our destiny, but our fate is sealed."

— Paulo Coelho

* * *

"Mmhm..."

"... I didn't say anything..." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Oops..."

"You weren't listening were you?" He said bluntly. Giving Sakura a judging look.

"I was!" Sakura squeaked. Clearly offended.

"Oh, yeah?" Sasuke crossed his arms and gave the pink haired girl a challenging look.

"What was I just talking about?"

"... How amazing your Nii-San is. How he's such a great ninja who graduated quickly and was also quick to activating his Sharingan...?"

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, and Sakura felt cold sweat run down her neck.

"So you _were_ listening?" He said in wonder, causing Sakura to deflate in relief.

 _'Not really. It was a pretty good guess, and a lucky one at that.'_

"Of course~" she chirped instead.

"He sounds like a great guy, and I can see why you admire him so much~" she winked at the child's red face.

 _'Hehe~ finally, someone else who is being teased~'_ she giggled softly to herself.

"Of course my Nii-San is great!" He bragged, then went on another speech about his brother. "He is also—"

 _'Here we go again.'_ Sakura sweat-dropped, and sighed in resignation.

"Sasuke~!" Sakura felt her ears twitch at the sudden call. It was faint, indicating the caller was slightly far away, but clearly feminine.

 _'Sounds familiar...'_ Sakura turned to where she assumed the call came from, along with Sasuke.

"Kaa-San!" Sasuke called happily as a figure of a young woman drew near to them. Soon enough, Sakura got a good look at the woman, and she felt her breath catch at her throat.

"Pretty." The word came out of Sakura's mouth unbidden. Sasuke turned to the young girl and grinned smugly. Proud to see his mother being stared at in awe.

 _'Is she seriously the mother of two boys?'_ Sakura tilted her head from one side to another, as if she was trying to figure out a particularly hard puzzle out.

 _'How does she keep her skin so smooth and unblemished?'_ Jealousy gnawed at Sakura, but she quickly brushed it away as her eyes made contact with Sasuke's mother.

 _'What was her name? I can't remember anything about her except... Her dead body.'_

An image of Sasuke's parent's dead over the other came into her mind, and now seeing the living woman looking so lively and just _human_ made Sakura feel sick in the stomach.

"Sakura-chan?" The lovely Uchiha called in a gentle tone filled with surprise at seeing her son with Akio's daughter. She looked around discreetly and spread out her chakra to sense the man, but came up blank.

 _'Strange.'_ She frowned in confusion. _'Did Akio-San really leave his daughter alone without supervision? Him?'_ She quickly took off her frown and put on a motherly smile towards the two children.

"It's very lovely to see you again." Sakura tensed up at the woman. Sweat rolling down comically from her face.

 _'W-we met before? When? Was it at the mall where she was with dad for a few minutes, or did we actually meet before everything? Should I great her in a certain way? What even is her NAME!?'_

A cute giggle tore Sakura away from her panicked thoughts. Her head snapped up to up to see the Uchiha woman laughing with her hand laid delicately over her lips. Sakura's face grew red, and she looked down to hide it and her embarrassed expression.

 _'I swear; I'm beginning to_ really _despise this life.'_ Sara growled. Already done with everything and everyone who enjoyed tormenting and humiliating her in the short period of time she got here. Sara was a very prideful woman, so seeing how much amusing people felt from laughing at her made her burn with anger at the humiliation.

"Well..." The beautiful mother stroked her cheek with one hand lightly.

"This is actually our first official meeting~" She giggled softly. "My name is Uchiha Mikoto. It is lovely meeting you~ I am both Sasuke's and Itachi's mother."

Sakura's expression turned to one of confusion. She was surprised at how young Mikoto looked for someone with two kids of her own. Honestly, Sakura thought she was at least twenty years old, maybe twenty-four at most seeing how youthful Mikoto looked.

"You remember, don't you? He helped you get your little game seeing as you were having difficulties reaching it." Mikoto smiled in amusement, assuming the confused look on Sakura's face was made because she couldn't recall who Itachi was.

"Uh, yeah. Of course, I remember. It's just..." She paused, not knowing if it was a good idea to say what was on her mind. Was it considered rude to say someone looked younger than they actually were? Sara wasn't sure, but she felt her mouth loosen anyways at Mikoto's encouraging look.

"You look like you're not over twenty-four years old, so I am surprised to know you're a mother to two boys. Especially considering their ages." Crap, why couldn't she keep her big mouth shut? Not only did she possibly greatly insulted someone, but that someone happened to be mother of important characters and a member of the Uchiha Clan. For the short time that Sara lived in the 'Naruto' realm, she picked up on people whispering and looking at Uchiha's with respect, acknowledgment and even fear with barely hidden suspicion.

"A-ah! I'm s-sorr—" Sakura stuttered. Nerves frying.

Bell sounding laughter touched Sakura's ears and she stared as Mikoto giggled beautifully with a light blush dusting her flawless pale cheeks while being surrounded by a warm aura and bubbles floating around her.

"How nice of you to say~ and I see that you are Sasuke are getting along well~"

"Uh..." Sakura wanted very much to deny the claim; to quickly destroy this unwanted attention and go on with her used to be normal life. Sara yearned to have a normal life, and she swore to herself that she would try to make it as normal as it could be in this place. Now, how to you tell the wife of the head of a strong clan that she wanted nothing to do with her son or family?

"My, my, you two look so adorable together~"

Okay, time to leave before this got any weirder because it looks like the mother was _shipping_ Sakura with her son. Cringe.

"Look~! I even took a picture~" A photo was presented to Sakura and she felt all the color drain from her body. Sasuke peeked from over her shoulders to look at the picture and turned as red as a tomato to see himself smiling widely too close to the pink haired girl to be considered normal.

"Moooom~" Sasuke whined. Making grabbing motions at the photo which his mother put in her pocket with a laugh at the adorable looks on the children's faces.

"Oh, Sasuke." Mikoto smiled dreamily at her son.

"Can you blame me? I have never seen you so happy and interested in someone other than Itachi! She must have really impressed you." The look in Mikoto's eyes told those that could understand that she might have been planning something to get the two children together. It might have even been planning their wedding for whatever reason.

Sakura felt faint. How did this happen? How did she find herself in this situation too out of hand and too random to be normal? This didn't even happen to Canon Sakura in the actual show. On the contrary, Canon Sakura lived a relatively normal life without anything major happening to her until she actually became a shinobi, so why the heck was Sara getting into major situations that basically told her she can't escape the ninja world by putting important characters straight up her face?

 _'It's over. My life of peace and LIVING is officially over. Why? Why do you do this to me God? I didn't ask for this. I was happy with my life. I don't deserve this.'_

"Well," Mikoto patted her pocket containing the humiliating picture fondly. "As upsetting as it is, we have to go home, Sasu-chan~"

"Awww." Sasuke pouted. Both at the nickname and the fact that his mom finished buying her groceries too soon.

"Don't worry." She assured him. "I'm sure you will see your little _girl_ -friend soon enough~" She winked teasingly and laughed airily seeing how red both the children's face turned.

 _'How nostalgic.'_ Mikoto smiled fondly at the sight _. 'I wonder...'_ She looked at them with a considering _look_ in her eyes.

Sakura happened to catch the strange look in the older woman's eyes, for she quickly changed the subject, waving bye at Sasuke with a fake upset face.

"Well, it was nice meeting you! See you in the future... one day…" She began confidently, but ended softly since she didn't really want the kid to think she was insincere. She _did_ enjoy his company a bit, he kept the boredom away.

"Oh, trust me. We will meet again~! You live with Akio-san neighboring this very park~ I am guaranteed to bringing Sasuke for a playdate someday close to today, so there is no need to feel so down~." Sakura looked at Mikoto with her jaws dropped as the woman walked away with Sasuke waving goodbye excitedly back at her. Mikoto turned around and gave Sakura a knowing look.

 _'Shit.'_ Sakura flushed red. She was caught in her attempts to lure Sasuke away from her for life. Mikoto _knew_ , and wasn't going to let that happen. Sara knew she was _royally_ screwed.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She groaned to herself, ready to leave with her future of living a normal life cut to pieces thanks to a strange matchmaking mother.

"I don' know, but it sure looks—as the Nara's would say: troublesome." Sakura jumped up in the air at the unexpected playful voice behind her. She turned sharply to see a boy older than her giving her a playful grin. He was pale and has curly black hair and eyes. His eyes were slightly swollen, signifying he was someone who slept rarely, and next to him was another boy smiling politely at her. Sakura met him before.

"A-ah!" Sakura cried out in surprise, fumbling as she tried to give a proper greeting.

"Hello, Sakura-san." He greeted her with a nod.

"H-hello... O-onii—I mean Itachi-san!" Her face grew red at what she was about to call the older boy.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! S-SHE ALMOST CALLED YOU AN *ONI!"

Itachi had a look of momentary surprise before it turned into one of mild annoyance at the loud obnoxious laughter of his older friend next to him.

"Shisui." Itachi said in a slight warning tone, which Shisui _almost_ heeded. Though he did reduce his laughter, turning them into occasional snickers.

Sakura noticed a strange look enter Itachi's eyes, but it disappeared too quickly for her to identify the meaning.

"... Onii-san is fine, Sakura-san." Itachi smiled kindly, ignoring Shisui's snickered _"Oni."_ Behind his back. Sakura flushed a light pink at the kind gesture, bowing her head in greeting.

"H-hello, Onii-san."

"Oni—Ow!" Shisui rubbed the place he was jabbed with a cheerful grin on his face. Itachi gave him a questioning look, which Shisui simply shrugged at still smiling. If Shisui was to be honest with himself, he didn't really find the situation all that funny, but it _was_ entertaining messing with both Itachi and a young flustered kid who had a pretty... fearful dad backing them up. Whelp, Shisui liked to live on the edge!

"You can call me Shisui though!" the curly haired Uchiha exclaimed, pointing dramatically at himself with a considerably huge mischievous grin on his face.

Itachi sighed.

"Do you have a death wish?"

"Maaaybe~"

Sakura could only look on with confusion at the strange exchange between the two older boys. What was going on? Was there something transpiring that she simply just wasn't understanding?

 _'His name sounds like 'Sushi'...'_

 _'When was the last time I ate sushi?'_

"Shisui-san." Sakura nodded in greeting. She will be damned before she goes around acting like an ignorant brat by calling a random guy 'sushi'. Sara was a fully grown mature woman in the body of a child, that does not make her any less intelligent from how she truly is.

Strangely, Shisui gave a nervous shiver while Itachi simply looked at him with a 'I told you so' expression.

 _'Something is definitely going on._ ' Sakura stared at the older boys with suspicion. She guessed it was high time for her to go home, but first...

"Say..." Sakura began cautiously. Eager to say what's in her mind and leave.

"You mentioned that my situation was "As the Nara would say; troublesome", what did you mean by that?" To be honest, Sakura didn't care to know, especially by an important character from the show. No, Sara would rather stay far, far away and avoid anything too out of ordinary. But, the way this boy; Shisui said those words made it seem like her semi peaceful days were already over.

Shisui snorted. "Oh, you mean the fact that Itachi here will pretty much be expecting you over for dinner, or something like that?"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat as soon her mind processed the new information.

 _'Oh no. no, no, no, no! this is very bad. Of all things that he could have said!'_

"It not certain." Itachi cut into her inner dialogue. She stared at him with wide eyes. Itachi momentarily pressed his lips into a straight line.

"I believe it is time for us to leave. It was nice meeting you again, Sakura-san, and thank you very much for entertaining my younger brother, Sasuke."

"Welcome." Sakura flushed red and mumbled a quick goodbye before briskly grabbing her stuff and leaving. After walking a few distance away, she turned one last time and waved with a shy, yet courteous smile towards the two boys before jogging away, not noticing how their polite smiles disappeared as soon as she was out of sight.

* * *

"I'd say that went well." Shisui grinned to the shorter male. Itachi gave a lighthearted glare towards his friend.

"Maybe for you."

"Oh, come ooon~ It really wasn't THAT bad!"

Itachi quirked a brow up.

"He can't be _that_ scary, can he?" Shisui began sweating at Itachi's suffocating silence.

"Well, he can't possibly find out unless you tell him, so I'm good! Ha ha ha!"

"Hn."

Itachi didn't even look at the older boy. He was too busy being thoughtful on the pink haired girl's abnormal behavior. He was sure Shisui is thinking the same thing, but Itachi can't help but think that Akio's daughter somehow knows who they are and want nothing to do with them. Her action and body language spoke as much.

 _'Now, the question is_ why _?'_ Itachi was curious, and when he got curious he was told that he was dangerous. He will stop at nothing until he figured out the mystery behind the older look in a supposedly innocent sheltered five-year-old girl. But... he was very thankful for her for spending her time with Sasuke. Itachi never seen Sasuke smile that brightly to some other kid that was his age. It was heartwarming.

* * *

With Sakura, she was busy walking very quickly, close to jogging or running. Her top priority was getting as far away from everyone of importance and hopefully away from the whole situation that just transpired as well.

 _"Oh, you mean the fact that Itachi here will pretty much be expecting you over for dinner, or something like that?"_

Sweat ran down the side of the young girl's face as she recalled the words spoken to her only a few minutes ago.

 _'No.'_ She shook her head to absent the preposterous idea.

 _'He was probably jesting to rile me up. That must be it since everyone in this world makes it their life's mission.'_ Sakura nodded fiercely to herself, not really paying much attention to her surroundings.

 _'Oh, yeah?'_ A part of Sakura's mind snorted. _'What about what Sasuke's mom said to us before they left?'_

 _"Oh, trust me. We will meet again~! You live with Akio-san neighboring this very park~ I am guaranteed to bringing Sasuke for a playdate someday close to today, so there is no need to feel so down~."_

 _'Tease!'_ Sakura cried desperately. _'She was only teasing us like everyone else enjoys doing! And if she really did send an invite one day, it's not like I will be attending.'_ If there was one thing Sara prided herself in, it was never being rude to anyone, but... This matter was completely different from a normal situation. First, Sara wakes up in a supposed fictional world as one of those main characters for the story. Then, she finds out that she is in a parallel world of the anime she used to watch out of utter boredom, and finally, she kept running into important characters who are determined to ruin her semi peaceful life. Sakura refused to go visit the Uchiha's since that would very likely ruin whatever small chance she has of living a carefree, normal life.

Sakura wanted to live, and living meant not getting involved in dangerous people whose job is to literally murder people, because no matter how much Sara liked Assassin's Creed, that does not mean she wants to join them in any way, shape, or form. Living meant staying the hell away from those people and living life in a civil way without any worry of 'the other side'. Unfortunately, Sakura is already 'friends' with Ino and Handa who are involved in the shinobi life. Handa is someone Sakura could accept, but Ino was another matter since she was the original Sakura's childhood friend as well, which means that Sara is subconsciously following in the storylines plot. Some would say it is her destiny, but Sara wants to tell destiny to screw off and let her live her life the way she wants to live it since unlike everyone else in this world, she is **_real_**.

 ** _"Are you sure about that."_**

Sakura jumped up in fear at the sudden voice speaking to her. She twisted her body around, looking for the source only to notice that everyone staring at her in either surprise or confusion at her sudden abnormal action.

 _'Who? Where?'_ Sakura began sweating. Now that she thought about it, the voice sounded like it came from _inside_ her head, and it wasn't the first time she heard that voice. Sakura racked her brain trying to recall from where she heard it.

"Ah!"

 _'That's it!'_ Before, when she was being babysat, Sakura remembered hearing a voice saying something to her. She couldn't recall what the words were exactly, but she did remember feeling comforted and trusting of the voice, and that feeling made her also feel very vulnerable. Sakura recalled how easily she has succumbed to that voice only with a few words, and the next think she knew was waking up from what felt like a dream only to see it was all reality. Everything was blurry, out of focus and impossibly surreal, as if Sakura was underwater, and she felt like she was feverish, but without all those hateful symptoms of being sick. Sara hated being like that; without any control of who she was. It made her wonder, is she really as in control as she assumes? Is she even _Sara_?

"Careful there!" Sakura snapped out of whatever trance she was in to see a slender arm outstretched towards her. She looked up to see a beautiful woman wearing silk kimono and holding a newborn child in her arms staring at her with concern shining clearly in her eyes.

"Are you okay, sweetie? You look so out of it..." The kind woman trialed off. Sakura couldn't help the way her face glowed as the beauty of the woman before her. The woman's gentle pearly colored eyes stared deep into her soul with worry and kindness.

"F-fine, I'm fine. Really! Thank you for your concern." Sakura smiled reassuringly and bowed her head respectfully.

"Well..." The woman momentarily hesitated. "If you are that certain." The woman looked like she wanted to accompany Sakura, or something like that.

"Thank you for your concern." Sakura bowed once more in gratitude. Taking her leave briskly without looking back, yet trying not to make it too obvious that she didn't want to be near the woman.

The reason why Sakura wanted to leave quickly was because she finally understood what was wrong with life. It was trying to boldly tell her that she cannot escape no matter how hard she tried to. Why does she think this? Because Sakura was sure a hundred percent that the woman who she nearly ran into was Hyūga Hinata's mother thanks to their uncanny resemblance and the newborn baby in the woman's arms.

 _'Itachi, Naruto, Ino, Sasuke, his mother, that sushi guy and now Hinata's mother apparently. What more do you want to throw at me!?'_ Sakura broke out in a sprint. She wanted out. She wanted to get home as soon as possible and forget everything that has happened to her today. Sakura wanted to eat Akio's delicious food, take a long relaxing shower, read a good immersive book and fall sleep in her large comfortable new bed in her now not pink room.

 _'I swear if I see just one more important fictional character from the show I'll—'_

"Oomph!" Sakura gasped as she collided with someone in her mad dash.

"Hm?" The person made a noise of disinterested confusion as she hit their leg. Sakura backed away from the person, noticing that they were a man and quickly bowed in apology.

"I-I am so terribly sorry!" She squeaked. "I wasn't watching where I was going!"

"Maa maa, it's fine. No harm done." The guy waved her off. Sakura looked up in apology and opened her mouth to say something, probably another apology, but she quickly forgot all the words that she was going to say and simply stared with her mouth open at the person she ran into. She had the urge to curl into a ball and cry, but the shock she felt was too great for her to do anything.

A lone black eye stared into her wide blank green eyes. Sakura's eyes trailed upwards towards the shock of silver gravity defying hair and then downwards towards a familiar orange book in his hand.

The sound of Sakura's soul breaking was heard to all as she continued to stare lifelessly at the tall masked 'stranger'.

* * *

 **A/N**

This was a pretty rushed chapter so I apologies if it came out too awkward to read, but I hope it isn't too bad for you guys.

 **IMPORTANT:** I will be inactive for two straight months, meaning the next chapter wouldn't come out until January 5th, so please be patient with me. I promise not to take more than that and stick with the given date.

See you guys then!

 ***Oni: A Yōkai from Japanese folklore (Demons, ogres, trolls, etc.)**

* * *

 **~~~~~~~~~~~OMAKE~~~~~~~~~~**

everyone in the Hidden Leaf knows who Akio is. They all also know the apple of Akio's eyes, his daughter, Haruno Sakura. They especially know not to upset the girl if they do not want to face the wrath of Akio.

Haruno Akio is known as a powerful and fearful man. He was once a well-known Shinobi who deserves the respect he has now in the short years he earned his fame. People would also sometimes compared Akio to the Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato and felt affronted when they learned he was retiring from the ninja duty to raise his daughter.

At first, people tried to argue and convince the man to rejoin the shinobi side, but Akio stopped all that with only one minute where he really showed the village how he gained the title of being one of the few truly horrifying Shinobi known worldwide. If there was one thing people know, it is to _never_ mess with Akio or his daughter. _Especially_ his daughter.

Those of the opposite gender also knew that if they were to ever meet Akio's gem, they were to make sure she never calls them by name, but as a brother.

Akio is a very overprotective father, and overprotective is putting it lightly.

"Now, remember, Cherry Blossom. You are to call every new male friend you make as 'Onii-san', Okay~?" Akio was seen lecturing a three-year-old Sakura who simply stared with large glowing eyes at her daddy's stern eyes.

"Why?"

"Because every boy who is close to your age is like your own brother, understand? When you get to know a boy, make sure to ALWAYS call him 'Onii-san' since they will ALWAYS be your brothers."

 _'And you can never date your brothers~'_ Akio thought darkly with a cold murderous aura around his body.

"Bwadaw?" Sakura said in awe. The thought of having siblings made her heart sour in cheerfulness. "Bwadaw!" She clapped happily completely unaware of the dark aura around her father's body.

"That's right, my sweet angel! All boys are your brothers! **_Nothing more_**!" Akio grinned widely as his angelic daughter nodded happily.

"That's my sweet girl~"

Sometimes, boys who make Sakura call them by their names feel a shiver of fear run down their spine, then they get a surprise visit from a _special_ guest, and Sakura never hears from them again. No, they don't vanish completely or die or mysterious causes. They just try to avoid Akio's daughter as if she was the plague. Sakura would sometimes come home upset on why everyone 'dislikes' her, assuming it was her 'huge' forehead that was leading everyone off, never aware of the self-satisfied grin on her father's face every time he comes home where everyone avoids her the next day.

 **" _My_ sweet girl~"**


	12. Pride

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me, he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 12: Pride_

* * *

"It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride."

— John Ruskin

* * *

Sara was currently looking up at the heavens in despair. Please, if there is a God out there, tell her what horrible things she has done in her previous lives that brought this injustice upon he, because she really felt that she was not deserving of what she kept receiving.

Sakura genuinely couldn't believe the day she was having. Meeting her supposed future 'husband' from the canon Naruto, plus said future husband's not yet dead mother who ridiculously looks like she wants grandchildren as soon as possible and doesn't care about throwing her son away to the first girl she spots. Let's not forget her encounter with a soon-to-be mass murderer and his soon-to-be eyeless and dead friend only seconds after which was the icing on the cake. That was before Sakura literally ran into the cherry on top.

Kakashi Hatake, or Hatake Kakashi since everything is 'technically' Japanese. The guy with the red eye; the Sharingan. The lazy guy who always carries an offensive perverted book everywhere he may go. The guy who later on ends up becoming Haruno Sakura's future _teacher_.

 _"I-I am so terribly sorry!"_ She squeaked apologetically before even making the connection on who this _future destroyer_ was. _"I wasn't watching where I was going!"_

The man stared with his lone dark eye into her own wide green orbs after dismissively waving away her apology.

Sakura could feel sweat form around her whole body even though she was feeling suddenly cold at this unwanted encounter. Today truly was a terrible day. So many important characters threw themselves at her as if they were telling her that she cannot escape her fate no matter how hard she tries, and they weren't even Neji for Christs sake!

Of course, it wasn't like she was trying _that_ hard to avoid them, if she was to be honest with herself. If Sakura was really that determined to not involve herself with these fictional characters, she would have never approached Naruto himself in the first place— No, if she really wanted nothing to do with this world, she wouldn't have even bothered getting out of the house, much less leaving her own bed. In fact, life would have been much easier had Sara just stayed home believing everything was just a nightmare; that she will wake up one day on her own not strangely colored bed, or even in a hospital waiting to be told she was in a coma.

But she didn't.

Instead, she approached the main character, made friends with the original Sakura's future friend, she met the canon girl's future husband and his family and basically screwed herself more than she could have possible though to be possible.

How could someone screw up to such an extend? To the point where not even Canon Sakura would ever _hope_ to achieve.

The sound of Sakura's soul breaking was heard very clearly as she continued to stare almost lifelessly at the tall masked 'stranger' who invaded her peace of mind. And she understood, then and there that there was no escape.

The world was out to get her.

"Are you lost?" the person she was panicking over asked her while gazing at her with one lazy eye. He didn't look like he actually cared about her answer, or even about _her_ in general, but he asked since she refused to give him his way to pass by and kept staring at him as if he just told her the world was ending, and she believes him.

"A-ah! N-no" she shook her head frantically. "Not really..." She looked down to avoid looking into her dark eye so he couldn't read her expression.

"Hmm..." Kakashi hummed. "You mind?"

Sakura looked up to stare at the older male in confusion before realizing what he was insinuating by noticing how crowded the way was and how organized the people were walking. She flushed in embarrassment and went to the side, behind a stall, giving Kakashi way to pass by without having to push anyone away.

Kakashi walked smoothly past Sakura without another word nor glace. His form was instantly swallowed by the crowd, making their brief encounter seem like it never happened.

But it did happen.

Sakura stared at the place Kakashi disappeared to gapingly.

 _'That's it?!'_ She blinked repeatedly in surprise. Her shoulders sagged in overwhelming relief.

 _'No freakin' way.'_

Sakura honestly thought her encounter with the masked man would somehow result in her taking a massive leap into the true Sakura's route since that man becomes her future teacher. Honestly, Sara expected an unavoidable conversation between them where the one-eyed man grows fond of her, or maybe he sees some form of perverse potential on her revolving around the life of the shinobi. Either way, Sakura genuinely assumed that their encounter would be so dramatic and life changing where escaping was not an option. She _definitely_ did not expect to share only two words of conversation that means absolutely nothing, and then for the older male to leave without a glace or hesitation. Far from it.

 _'Well... maybe this is a sign?'_ Sakura smiled wearily to herself. Continuing on her way home while thinking about this diverse encounter so different from the others. Sakura believed that maybe, just maybe the world was finally moving in the way she liked. Maybe those deities that were laughing at her and tormenting her were finally sated and showed mercy on her by sending her a messenger in the form of Kakashi. Kakashi bumping into her and leaving without some drastic change, while acting as if she was no one of importance might signify that she was safe. It might mean that the terrible future she concerns over every day and plagues her nightmares could actually be avoided!

Or maybe that's just wishful thinking?

Sakura was already at the front door of her house where she began thinking of the older male. He looked exactly like how he was portrayed in the anime, but same as everyone, he looked far more attractive and unique. Pale gray hair that were almost white under the sun, tall body that exceeded power even though his posture was relaxed and his lone eye... Sakura could feel a chill go down her spine at the memory of Kakashi's deep dark black eye. Even though his eye expressed boredom, they felt like he was studying her; looking deep into her soul. They were slowly undressing her and looking deep into her core being, making her feel fear thinking that he knew who she really was. As if he could see into her true being, her insides, her thoughts, everything.

Sakura retrained a shiver. She felt royally freaked out about their brief encounter and just wished to push it at the far back of her mind. It had to be a one-time thing, Sakura didn't want to think if it was something that was just the beginning.

"Welcome back, 'Kura-chan~" Akio greeted cheerfully as soon as she opened the door.

"A-ah, I'm back." Sakura gave her usual cute smile in greeting, trying to keep the unease out of her expression. It must have worked because her father didn't comment on anything nor did his expression change.

"Oh, Sakura, dearie, we have a guest with us—" Sakura drastically paled. She could instantly feel her heart stop beating as he said that. It wasn't even five minutes after meeting Kakashi, and Sakura assumed she was safe, but now she couldn't help but think that said ninja was in her home; her safe heaven. "And he's just dying to meet you~ Why don't you go great him?"

Akio gave another gushing smile.

Sakura tried to swallow the sudden lump that formed around her throat. Why was it so hard to breath suddenly?

A hesitate step was taken towards the kitchen, where her father gestured the 'guest' was staying at. Akio gently began guiding Sakura towards the kitchen, excited on introducing his darling girl to their guest.

 _'Please don't be who I think you are, please don't be who I think you are, please don't be who I think you are,_ please _don't be Kakashi!'_ Sakura begged repeatedly and looked up as soon as she spotted another man in the kitchen that usually had only her and her new dad.

Sakura's eyes widened as soon as her eyes landed on the tall man. He gave her a happy, yet polite smile. His eyes were bright, nearly the same color the ocean, blue mixed in with green inside them. His hair was unbelievably long and silky looking, making Sakura itch to run her fingers through those locks of hair that glittered like the sun, but on the top, they were framed in an almost messy style, pointing in different directions in a crazy, yet somehow stylish way. Sakura was somehow reminded of Ino. She couldn't help but think of this male to be _almost_ a gender bent older form of her friend, Ino Yamanaka, with minor differences.

"Hello. You must be Haruno Sakura! I heard so much about you from Ino." He spoke in a clear rich tone of voice. Sakura stared at him in surprise.

"You—" The man laughed heartedly.

"Yes, I'm her father. My name is Yamanaka Inoichi. Pleased to meet you~"

"T-the pleasure is all mine..."

"My, how polite. You've raised a fine daughter, Haruno-san."

"Please, Akio is just fine." Akio cut in, grimacing at the formal way he was being called. "Besides, our two girls are friends, so I can't see why we can't become the same way."

Inoichi smile seemed to become more genuine as soon the words left her father's lips. Sakura could already tell that they would become good friends, both her dad and the sudden visitor.

Sakura wanted to feel happy for her dad. This was the first time she has ever seen him with someone close to his age, and he seemed to be getting along quite well with Inoichi from what she could see by their short interactions, but...

Sakura _really_ wanted to be happy and normal like any other girl her physical age, but that was just wishful thinking. Not only was Sakura way too old mentally to act as a typical innocent child, but she also sees the world as a cartoon where everyone she meets are considered walking scripted characters with no free will. Additionally, these same unreal characters very much unlike herself are beings that she knows of only thanks to a TV series where she could recognize and maybe even manipulate thanks to her knowledge, and the man in front of her made Sakura _very_ scared and uncomfortable.

Inoichi Yamanaka was not only just the father of Ino Yamanaka, but he was also someone who is very skilled in the arts of reading people. Sakura recalled that he was high up in the interrogation section where he could even dive into a person's mind and see their whole life through their memories.

He was the one person who she should have definitely never come into contact with even though she always found him to be fascinating, and the horrifying part was that from the moment she entered the house and saw Inoichi, he was looking at her almost judgingly, like he was reading her. Almost like Kakashi, but it made her feel more distressed for some reason, and Sakura things that maybe he knows, because there was this look in his eyes that she recognized from her old life which did not spell good things for her.

Hearing Inoichi speaking brought her attention towards him, he kept looking at her with those same intelligent and almost predator's eyes as she tried to act casual and think of all the times she has ever been childish and all the things she enjoys so that she may pass herself off as a child she is supposed to be.

An above average child with mature eyes, but a child nonetheless. She'll take what she could get.

"As I told your father here, I would like to invite you both to my wife's and I's home. Ino spook good things about you, so we would be delighted to have you both!"

 _'Of course, she did.'_ Sakura couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her thoughts. Of ALL times, why did Ino have to get Sakura invited NOW when she was in the middle of a crisis? No, why the _hell_ did Ino even mention Sakura to her parents when Sakura made absolute sure that they didn't become great friends? In fact, Ino is MUCH closer to Haru, Aito and Handa, so why was Sakura getting invited suddenly when they barely knew anything about one another?

 _'What the heck could she have even said about me to her parents?'_ Sakura couldn't think of the answer. Ino knew nothing about her, so what could the young blonde have said?

"Now?" Sakura said unsurely.

"No better time than the present." Akio grinned with Inoichi nodding along with him. Yup, they were definitely getting along too well for Sakura's liking.

 _'Dad just_ had _to befriends someone who could easily and effortlessly expose me, didn't he? Thanks a lot dad...'_

"We will be there in a bit. Sakura just came home from the park, so I'm sure a quick shower will do her some good." Akio gave a dashing smile.

"Understandable seeing how my daughter gets around her friends. We'll see you both in an hour?" Inoichi asked.

"An hour." Akio confirmed.

Sakura just sat there looking between the two interacting about something that involved her while she wasn't given an option to refuse or push in between their conversation. Soon, Inoichi bid farewell to her and her dad and Sakura didn't manage to get a single word out.

Akio turned towards Sakura with his usual cheerful smile.

"How about I help you with your bath as you tell me all about your day~?"

The lump that previously sealed her voice instantly disappeared and sakura ran up to her room screaming while Akio called out to her in comical shock.

"NO!"

"Ah! Sakura-chan!?"

 _SLAM!_

"Sweetheart, you cannot keep daddy out~!"

 _'Just watch me.'_ Sakura huffed as she pushed with all the might her little body could master to keep the door shut while the older male pushed back playfully from the other side.

* * *

Sakura's head was half submerged into the water as she wore a look annoyance mixed with defeat.

"Alright~!" Akio sang in victory as he finally got his precious baby girl into the water. Said precious girl gave him a dark glare that made him grab his chest in pain.

 _'SHE'S SO ADORABLE!'_ He gushed, frantically fanning his flaming face.

Sakura groaned in exasperation.

"Can you leave? _Please_." She begged, feeling self-conscious about having a guy in the same bathroom where she is literally nude under the foamy water. Thank god for the foam.

A confused look was shot towards the embarrassed pink girl.

"I will." He assures her, causing her to slightly relax. "Right after your bath~"

 _'I don't know if he is playing at being oblivious or if he is actually unable to read a person's mood.'_

And thus, began the game where Akio tries to approach the wild pink animal who kept glaring and threatening to bite the man's hand the closer he got towards her.

Pleading did not work.

"Please, Sakura-chan~ let daddy clean you up~" Akio whined.

"NEVER! You stay AWAY from me!"

Logic did not work.

"Sweetie, at this rate we're going to be late~!"

"I DON'T CARE!"

Bribing did not work.

"Oh, cherry blossom~ If you let me finish, I'll make you any food you could ever wish for~ plus dessert~"

"No mean no." Sakura stood firm. Her older persona overpowering her younger, more food loving one.

"... I will even buy you all the games you want~ I know how much you liked the one you got~" Akio tried again. Reaching out his hand towards his precious gem.

"OW!" Akio yelped in pain as Sakura finally managed to get a bite into his hand as soon as it brushed against her flushed cheeks. The father struggled to pull his hand out of the little girl's mouth and finally succeeded after many failed attempts.

They both looked at each other while panting hard.

"... I'll take that as a no..." Akio mumbled exasperatedly to himself. His voice echoing in the bathroom.

Sakura couldn't keep the smug look off her face as she saw him cradling his hand. That will teach him not to mess with her again.

 _Drip._

"Oh." Akio looked in his arm in wonder. Teeth marks covered his hand, with two prominent indentations that were dripping blood. He couldn't help but feel impressed at the power of his daughter's jaw as he looked at the damage. The red liquid slowly trailing down his hand onto the floor brought a distant memory, causing his eyes to lose color as he want back years into the past. A gasp snapped his out of whatever trance he was in. He looked up and the image he saw broke his heart.

Sakura was staring with wide horrified eyes at the blood on the floor. Her wide eyes slowly rose up towards red contrasting against Akio's pale skin. She looked at the bite mark she left and her expression turned to one distraught and _guilty_. Eyes filling up to the brim with tears.

"D-daddy?" With a quick panicked look, Akio hid his hand behind his back and waved the other one childishly.

"A-ah, t-this is nothing! R-really n-n-nothing, sweetie~ P-p-please wipe those t-t-tears~!" Seeing no improvement Akio quickly excused himself from the bathroom.

"O-one minute, p-please." And he quickly walked out, almost tripping multiple time as he closed the door behind him.

Sakura continued to stare with wide eyes at the few drops of blood that decorated her pale floor.

 _'I… I did this... I-I... I hurt him...'_ Never once did Sakura's eyes waver away from the nauseating sight in front of her.

 _'W-why... why d-did I...? W-what's wrong w-with me?_ ' She began thinking of her actions in a more open mind.

 _'A-am I really so prideful that I would d-deny a father the activity he shared with his daughter? The same d-daughter who I took away from him... Am I really so cold and h-heartless to not only deny a kind man's every attempt at getting c-close to me, but also h-hurting him to the extend he b-b-bled? I... I'm such a horrible human.'_

Yes, Sara is a responsible and prideful woman. She is known for her hard work, knowledge and independence, which she prides herself with, but does that mean that she couldn't depend on someone? Now, as Sakura, a young kid who clearly requires assistance, Sara still tries to act as she would before everything got messed up. Sara still considers herself as _Sara_ even though she was proven wrong on multiple occasions by demonstrating characteristics drastically unlike herself but more like her physical form.

Basically, Sara is not _Sara_ anymore. Not completely, which does scare her very much so and is the reason why she tries her hardest to be independent. She doesn't want to lose herself; she doesn't want to disappear. That's her biggest fear along with taking a life. But... is she doing the right thing? By pushing away a desperate father from the daughter she basically took away from him? No, how could that be right? It's wrong. Sickening. Sara could not believe how prideful she is to take a simple gesture that brings Sakura's father joy away from him; from them both.

Letting the man bathe her wouldn't kill her. True, it is very humiliating for someone like her, but Sakura is a growing girl, which means that this activity would soon stop. Plus, this wasn't just some random male bathing her, he was her _father_. Her own flesh and blood who loved Sakura very much in a completely non-perverse way. He was her dad too, whether she liked it or not, and she _hurt_ him.

"I'm back~" Akio come back abruptly, dancing happily as if nothing was amiss.

Sakura noticed that his once bleeding hand was completely healed, leaving no evidence of what happened only a minute ago, but Sakura wasn't going to be fooled. Not by the suddenly clean floor, not by the healed hand and definitely not by Akio's smiling face. She knows what happened, what she's done.

"I..." Her voice cracked as she spoke. Akio's smile faltered as he gave her a tender worried look and reached out to her slowly, stroking her face lovingly without fear, and for the first time ever, Sakura truly saw a father. Her dad.

"Sakura..." Hearing the kindness in his voice mixed with the gentle touch to her cheek with the exact hand she hurt was Sakura's undoing.

"I'm sorry!" She burst into tears, reaching her hands out to be held. Akio instantly swooped her up into a tight hug, so tight like he was almost trying to take away all her fears and worries into him instead.

Half of Sakura's body was submerged into the water, the other was shielded with her dad's body as he held her until she stopped crying. The hug was so very 'Akio'. It made her feel loved, cared for, protected and many other wonderful things that reminded her of this very individual holding her.

"It's okay, sweetie. Everything is okay. You're fine." He kept reassuring her.

* * *

After that little exchange, the shower finally proceeded smoothly without any incident. Akio beamed in happiness as Sakura finally allowed him to assist her with her bath. He carefully washed her body, but thankfully left her to wash her more 'sensitive' parts of the body.

The embarrassment of having someone wash her body was vast. Sara has never felt such humiliation, not since high school, but seeing the happy smile on Akio's face made it all seem worthwhile. Of course, she felt that she will never live it down, but for now everything could be ignored until the reality of the situation finally catches up to her.

"There~ Perfect!" Akio hummed happily as he added the final touches to her appearance. Petting down her growing hair which was split into two parts and carefully braided. Some of her short bangs escaped the braid and Akio took a cute flower hairclip to hold it back, out of her face.

Sakura was, _of course_ , dressed in a cute yellow sundress that flared around her body, making her look like she was wearing a tulip as a dress.

"Cherry blossom, you look so beautiful." Akio breathed in adoration as he saw her final look. He wore a look of both awe and pride as he gazed upon her small figure with a _'that's my baby girl'_ expression. He sure loves to dress her up, where Sara felt awkward, because she worried about people thinking she was a spoiled little rich girl.

"Thank you." Sakura bashfully thanked the compliment, feeling her cheeks redden at the attention.

"Don't forget," Akio reminded her as they were just about ready to leave. "We go to the Yamanaka's then we will sign you up for the Academy, so try not to get too crazy with the games~" He winked, thinking of the clan head's daughter.

Sakura froze.

"A-academy?" She stuttered, feeling a pit form in her stomach.

"Yes." Akio confirmed, giving her a confused look. "We have been avoiding it for a while now, but it's about time for you to sign up for the Academy. You start in a month~"

"M-month?"

"Sakura, sweetie." Akio went down on his knees to stare directly into his nervous daughter's eyes.

"I know this is new for you and how scared you are of people judging you, but..." His voice turned firm with his belief. "You are a smart, beautiful girl who when she sets her mind into something, she could achieve it no matter what! Don't let anything get you down. Look at you now! Making friends, gaining confidence, you are growing up so fast and I am sure you will continue to grow and get more friends. You have nothing to fear!"

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat at his words. She was more worried about starting the Academy because she didn't want to be a ninja, she didn't want to start walking on the path of destruction, but those kind and sincere words from Akio brought her a small amount of comfort.

"B-but what about—" Akio cut her off before she could go deeper into panic mood.

"You have NOTHING to worry about." He said firmly. "Everything will be okay. Trust me." The look in Akio's eyes reassured the young girl immensely. She wanted to trust him, to think everything _was_ alright.

Sakura took a deep breath and nodded, feeling her nerves relax.

"Okay." She gave a small trusting smile. "Thank you, daddy~"

"You're more than welcome." Akio gave a fatherly kiss towards his baby's forehead, willing all her worried away with that kiss.

"C'mon~" He reverted back into his more cheerful and childish self.

"We're going to be late if we don't hurry~!" He took her hand into his much larger one and began leading her towards her friend's house.

Unfortunately, both Akio and Sakura were stopped on the way towards the Ino's house in the middle of their conversation about the Academy Sakura was entering by someone calling out to them. Or, more specifically her.

"Sakura-san~!"

Both father and daughter looked towards the direction of the call, only for Akio to smile tightly and Sakura to pale as they noticed Uchiha members walking towards their direction with a familiar kid waving towards her direction.

"Ah, Fugako-san, Mikoto-san, how is everything~" Akio greeted cheerfully, yet his grip of her hand tightened. Not to the extend where it hurts, but it was noticeable as if he was afraid she will be taken away from him, or something of the sort.

Itachi gave Sakura a polite smile in greeting Sasuke looked like he wanted to tackle her from how excited he was, but that was impossible. This is Sasuke Uchiha, the 'avenger' and not the Marvels kind either. There was just no way.

"Hello..." Sakura greeted shyly, inching her head forward for a short, yet polite bow while feeling very faint about this big encounter with the leader of the powerful clan, plus the same man who is planning a coup against the Hokage. A civil _war_.

When Sakura raised her head, her eyes met with the man's— Fugako's dark eyes which were glaring at her intensely with a deep frown decorating his face.

Sakura felt herself wilt.

He was not happy.

* * *

 **AN**

Hello, everyone. As promised, a chapter right on time :D

 **IMPORTANT:** The story will be on a few months of Hiatus as I try to sort through everything going on in my life. I might not come back soon, but I will at least try to get a chapter out at May 4th so not to keep everyone waiting for too long.

I truly apologize, but know that I'm not doing it without a good reason considering how much I adore writing, and how much I adore this story. It has a special place in a heart seeing as it is the first story that I feel serious about.

Also, I wanted to keep the actual sneak peek to the next chapter as a surprise since it got pretty... _intense_ as I began the writing it (I must have really been in a bad mood because the cringe is real XD) so what you see is what you get. Hope it's not too bad though~ Try to read it in a dramatic deep commentator style X3

* * *

 **~~~~~In The Next Episode~~~~~**

In the next episode, prepare to bite your nails and cringe by witnessing two outstanding men battle it out verbally thanks to some pent-up frustration that goes back years into the past!

Watch as young Sakura witnesses a darkness in her father, one that she has never seen before and isn't aware of what exactly she should do about it!

Rejoice at the fateful meeting with an old friend!

And more soon to be discovered coming soon on theatre!


	13. Meeting the Infamous Uchiha?

ChoosingYourOwnPath13

 **Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me; he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 **Warning:** Major OOC. Character's personalities a bit more... excessive and over-the-top. Well... it _is_ a fanfiction, so... #BlameAkio

 _Chapter 13: Meeting the Infamous Uchiha?_

* * *

"Greetings."

"Good day to you, Akio-san~"

Fugako greeted gruffly, much different from Mikoto's warm and happy greeting. Itachi's actions showed brief but seemingly heartfelt acknowledgement towards both Sakura and her father, which Sasuke quickly followed to do after seeing his dearest big brother bow slightly to Akio.

Sakura had to hold herself back to refrain from smiling at how obviously obsessed Sasuke was towards his brother. It was clear as day that the younger Uchiha saw his elder sibling as more than a role model. Itachi seemed to be more than just an older brother that Sasuke strived to be, he was also everything to the younger boy. His sun, his light, his sanity. That contemplation nearly brought Sakura tears right then and there seeing as soon enough Itachi will have to destroy that image that Sasuke has of him, which will then lead the youngest down a dark path.

Soon enough, the unlimited love in Sasuke's eyes will turn to deep anguishing hatred maybe in just a year or so, and that thought was...

Distressing.

"Tell me~" Sakura's attention was brought back to the present at hearing her father's voice speak up after a moment of tense silence. "How does your son know my daughter~?" The smile on Akio face never faltered, but it had a dark shadow looming over it.

Fugako twitched and sighed as if he knew this question was going to be asked of him.

"I am not aware." He started deliberately slowly; carefully, as if trying to preserve something.

"I was about to ask you the same question." Akio's grip tightened some more.

"We met today, in the park." Sasuke suddenly spoke, seemingly unaware of the tense air between the two Alpha males and the way Itachi smiled awkwardly with a sweat drop.

"Oh~?" Akio's smile sharpened. "How interesting~ and you both meet once more right now~"

Fugako gave the cheerful man a sharp glare, his eyes flashing red for a split second causing Sakura to gulp.

"And _what_ , pray tell are you insinuating?"

"I don't know~" Akio's smile was all teeth now, almost as if he was snarling. "Are you sure you didn't _deliberately_ have dear old _Sasuke-kun_ meet my little cherry blossom today while I was busy with personal business?"

"Oh, dear." Mikoto sighed softly to herself. Already able to guess the reaction of her husband.

 _'There they go again.'_ She couldn't help a fond smile from forming even though her eldest son was beseeching her with his eyes to stop this madness.

 _'Sorry, Itachi-kun. I can't stop those two when they get like this~'_ She told him sheepishly with her eyes. The people around them further proving her point by staying as far away from this situation as they possibly could. Whispering to each other about how 'normal' this scene was, as if it has happened before.

 _"Here they both go again."_

 _"Are they seriously not over it!?"_

 _"I hope this won't be like the last time."_

 _"Ooooh~ this will be good~!"_

 _"Shit, I knew I shouldn't have left the house today!"_

"How **_dare_** you..." Yup, Sakura definitely wasn't imagining the other father's eyes flashing red. She clearly saw the infamous _Sharingan_ for the second time now, but more clearly and took a step back thanks to both the people's reaction and her fear of the supernatural.

"You think I WANT them to meet? And I would purposely have MY son seek out YOUR daughter? Don't make me laugh." Fugako scoffed at the notion.

Akio became unhinged not only at the comment, but at seeing how scared Sakura became after seeing the other male's eyes flash red.

 **"Oh~?"** He chuckled darkly **"I see how it is~"**

"Kaa-san." Itachi spoke up, for the first time feeling intimidated by the usually cheerful man before him.

"I am not getting between them now, Itachi-kun." Mikoto shook her head slowly as they both moved closer together. Meanwhile, Sasuke was staring with wide eyes at the two older men with stars in his eyes.

"Woah, this is the first time I've seen dad get so excited over something! And I never knew Sakura-chan's dad was so cool too!" Sasuke whisper-shouted happily, not noticing the comical sweat drop both his mother and brother shared at his comment.

 **"Poor little Fugako still mad about our battle long ago and wants to take it out on others, doesn't he~ Oh! Oh! Or are you just salty about not being able to get a daughter as gorgeous as mine after all this time trying~? Can't get it up~?"** He teased mercilessly.

 _'Oh my God!'_ Sakura mentally cried in horror at the words coming out of her kind father. She couldn't recognize him anymore!

 **"Hahaha."** Fugako laughed darkly. The comment clearly rubbing him off the wrong way.

 **"The only reason you won that fight is because of your cheap cheat _tricks_ , and you know what I am talking about. And as for your daughter—"**

The situation was drastically escalating quickly by the second. By now, both men were surrounded by a dark mist circling around their bodies like an angry snake ready to strike, warding off anybody from daring to think of approaching them.

"*Whimper*" Sakura accidentally let out, causing Mikoto to gasp in concern and finally take action.

"Fugako." She said firmly.

Fugako looked at his wife with the angry expression and calmed down as soon as he saw her face. Mikoto's face was set into a disapproving frown, yet her eyes expressed worry and disappointment.

"Hah." He sighed after a long moment of silence and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Fugato calming down seemed to cause Akio to do the same as well, and he finally noticed how badly his daughter was shaking.

"Ah!" Akio cried out in shock and promptly swopped his trembling daughter up high into his arms. Holding her tightly to ensure that she feels safe as he whispers reassuringly into her ears.

"Sorry, baby. It's okay now." That still didn't stop him from glaring at Fugako as the head of the Uchiha clan glared right back at him.

Honestly, they both looked extremely childish. Like two kids fighting over a toy.

"Oh my~ would you look at the time!" Mikoto suddenly gasped dramatically.

"Fugako! We are late to the meeting!" She chided angrily, causing her husband to pale.

"Sorry, dear." He apologized, trying not to show his fear. Mikoto simply gave him a look that said, 'we'll talk later' and smiled angelically.

"... You know where you're sleeping tonight." She said then turned to Akio, completely ignoring her husband's pleading look.

"Heh, serves you right Fugako!" Akio grinned cheekily.

"Oh no, you don't!" Mikoto glared. "You are just as bad! Look, you even frightened poor little Sakura-chan, and all because of you men's stupid past from back in our Genin days!"

Akio lowered him head down in shame. Looking downcast like a kicked puppy.

"...He started it." Akio pouted childishly with a stubborn expression.

Fugako's head perked up.

"Excuse me? if I recall correctly—which I do, it was _you_ who—"

"That's enough now. We are late, and you both are setting a bad example to the children" Mikoto gestured to a disturbed Sakura and an excited Sasuke. Itachi just looked on with a blank tired smile.

"The meeting..." Fugako muttered, causing Akio to comically swallow and pale.

"Oh, no! We're late too!" He cried in horror.

 _'I'm soooooo dead! Uwaaaa~'_

"Sakura! Why didn't you tell daddy?" Akio shook her body and stared at her beseechingly.

 _"Are you serious?"_ Sakura's face seemed to say.

"Fugako, you made us late!" Akio reprimanded.

" _You're_ the one who started everything and is now blaming _me_ for your mistakes!"

"Dear lord, you both are so _childish_ ~" Mikoto sighed tiredly. "I don't care who started it, children~ we are all still late, so _please_ stop your flirting and let us all move on with our lives~"

"M-Mikoto!" Both Akio and Fugako sputtered profusely with perturbed expressions.

" _Flirting?_ " Both Sakura and Sasuke echoed with equal looks of disgust and slight hilarity.

"Haha." Itachi gave a short yet genuine laugh, and Sakura felt her face flush.

 _'S-so cute!'_ She gushed. Itachi's face lit up making him actually look his age. The stress in his eyes gone.

Mikoto wrapped her dainty arms around Fugako's elbow and began to subtly lead him to the side and away from Akio.

"Well, it was lovely. Nice seeing you again Sakura-chan~ why don't you come visit today after the meeting?"

Akio got out of his shock.

"Ah, no... today isn't really good since we are visiting the Yamanaka. Sakura here is good friends with their daughter, and you know how children are." He smiled sheepishly.

Mikoto sighed disappointedly.

"Oh well~ maybe next time, right, Fugako~?" She smiled cheerfully at her still traumatized husband.

"Yes, dear."

"Next time..." Akio agreed as he was given a look.

"How lovely~! See you both soon." She waved gracefully and watched with a proud smile as her children bid both father and daughter a farewell as well.

 _'A daughter, hm~?'_ She giggled to herself.

"Mikoto..." Fugako sighed as he saw his wife laughing to herself with a cunning look in her eyes.

"What do you think of Sakura-chan, dear~?"

 _'Ah.'_ Fugako mentally threw his head back as he understood what his wife meant with her question.

"She was... pleasant." He said after a moment of consideration.

 _'Not like I could get a good look on her personality thanks to Akio._ ' He thought bitterly.

"But she had mature eyes for her age. Almost the same as Itachi."

"Hmm." Mikoto hummed in agreement.

"Smart, but very innocent."

"I like her~" Mikoto smiled, giving Fugako a happy look. He nodded.

"If you say so." Mikoto was always a good judge of character, so if she said she liked someone, then that person might be someone worth liking.

"You did invite them, I presume?"

"Of course," Mikoto giggled at his question. "Who do you take me for?"

In the mean time, Sasuke was happily talking to his older brother about when Sakura and her 'cool dad' will be visiting. Itachi let Sasuke talk and added a few words in between to show that he was listening while paying attention to their parent's conversation at the same time.

 _'There Kaa-san goes again._ ' He shook his head fondly as he then recalled the... interesting meeting between his father and Sakura's father as Sasuke kept talking about them animatedly. _'I knew both Tou-san and Akio-san had a history together, but I never expected it to be that.'_

Meanwhile with Sakura, she was being carried by Akio towards their destination. Already exhausted about the day, and yet they have yet to officially meet the Yamanaka's.

 _'How am I going to survive?'_ She internally cried a river. She was so nervous about meeting Ino's parents because she feared having her true identity revealed. Sakura tried to steel herself for the meeting, but their run with the Uchiha's completely left her feeling tired both mentally and physically.

That moment when Mikoto asked her father about coming to their home, Sakura felt her spirit leave her body. Thankfully, Akio refused the invitation, but that didn't mean that they were completely off the hook.

Far from it.

At least Akio seemed to be as unhappy as her about the invitation, and that's only because of his history with Fugako, it seems.

Sakura hopes the meeting wouldn't come soon, because after seeing that dark side of her dad, she _really_ didn't want to witness it again so soon. Plus, Uchiha's are terrifying! Especially how their eyes change to red when they are mad almost like they are being possessed by Lucifer himself!

Sakura prays she could make it through the day, because at the moment she doesn't feel too confident about hiding her true feelings and emotions. She wasn't ready, but what other choice did she have? It was too late to do anything.

* * *

 **A/N**

Later than usual, but technically still on time.

 **Please know that chapters will be much shorter from now on**. I am going through some rough patches, but I don't want to leave you guys waiting too long and I need something to keep me grounded, so I decided to update whatever I could manage to write down in my free time.

And I literally mean _whatever_ I could write down. Meaning, it could be really short, but I will try to make them longer if possible.

Anyways, hope you all have a lovely day!

P.s. I'd like to thank everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed on this story. Thank you all so very much! I personally enjoy responding to reviewers but sometimes I forget if I did respond or not thanks to how hectic life can be, so thank you Angelicsailor and Satoshi Haruno for your lovely comments along with everyone else I might have also missed! I will try to respond as soon as I receive your comments so I don't miss anyone this time! Hope this story continue to amuses and entertains you all! :D


	14. Dad Meets Dad

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me; he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 14: Dad Meets Dad_

* * *

"YOU'RE LATE!" Was the first thing Sakura heard as she was tackled to the floor by a yellow and purple blur.

"Oof!" She managed to let out as she felt herself get squeezed and squished by the added weight atop of her.

Just as soon as the person was there _weighting her down_ , they were gone just as quick, and Sakura found herself being put back on her feet by her concerned father.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" He petted her down of any dust, hands hovering cautiously over various parts of her body, looking for signs of injury or discomfort.

"I am so terribly sorry, Akio-san. My daughter just tends to get a bit too excited about her friends." Sakura's vision adjusted to see Inoichi holding a struggling and frowning Ino under his arm.

He must have been the one to take the struggling blond off of her.

Sakura might have found the scene to being slightly amusing had she not felt so bemused at the moment. She most likely will look back on this moment fondly... one day.

"That's fine. It's nice to see Sakura having such a good friend~" Akio said happily, causing Ino to still completely and blush bashfully.

She smirked haughtily at her dad and pushed her chest out proudly saying, "of course, I am!" Inoichi simply gave a sheepish smile at his daughter's antics. Resisting the urge to pinch his daughters red cheeks in retaliation. They were so round and inviting!

Sakura decided to ignore her friend's reaction and bowed deeply towards the older male. Better to get on his good side early on seeing he is someone who could literally assault her mentality.

"Hello, Yamanaka-sama."

Inoichi laughed and waved her off casually with his free hand.

"There's no need to be so formal!"

Sakura looked at the older male with her wide green eyes in a confused manner. She paused, then nodded her head at him wordlessly.

 _'No need to be formal? How should I respond to that? Should I call him by his name, or simply add a different suffix? Should I discretely ask Ino of how I should properly greet her father?'_

Inoichi felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. He looked with hidden amusement at the way her brows drew together, and her eyes gained a faraway look.

She had an intense look of concentration in her face.

 _'She is worrying too much over what to call me...'_ He assessed, feeling curious about what could be on her mind to require such an intense reaction, even one well-hidden compared to a normal child. Usually, children don't get panicky over what to call those older than them, they—

 _'No.'_ He shook his head in order to dismiss the thoughts. _'Inoichi you need to **stop** seeing others as people to interrogate!' _he reprimanded himself, feeling a headache ready to form.

 _'Not everyone is hiding something vital concerning the village and Sakura is only a young child the same age as your own daughter!'_ The fatherly side of Inoichi pushed at the more dangerous and less trusting side of him. The side that specializes in invading and breaking the minds of people.

 _'Besides, she's Haruno Akio's daughter. Of course, she's not a normal child, she is the daughter of a powerful and very intellectual man.'_ Inoichi said trying to convince himself. It's fine that the pink haired girl's eyes look similar to a grown up, it's fine that she looks unsure about herself, it's fine that every world and every action seems deliberate, there is a reasonable explanation to all those! Akio being one them.

Besides, it's not the first time a prodigy of some sort was born, and Sakura demonstrated signs of being one.

Akio bent down to match Ino's height just as her father set her down gently on her feet.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughter, Ino-chan." He gave a closed eyed smile.

Not just any smile, but _the_ smile.

Bells rang, doves flew gracefully, and wind picked up to ruffle Akio's hair in a gentle breeze, causing some cherry flowers to fly in front and behind him as the background vanished and all you could see was his illuminating face glowing at you angelically.

Ino's face went up in flames and her eyes turned in literal hearts.

Sakura just stared indifferently at the scene, already used to her father's disarming smile. Anyway, it's one of his weakest Genjutsu smiles...

"Ahem." Inoichi coughed in his clenched hand. "Ino, why don't you get your friend, Sakura-chan go play until dinner is ready?"

Was he blushing? Sakura wasn't too sure if she was imagining the faint pink that was momentarily dusting the older man's cheeks or if it was actually there. If it was, then she was very satisfied about not being the only one teased mercilessly by her father.

Does anyone blame her if she wished that they suffered as she has suffered?

 _'Feel my pain.'_ A sadistic part of her mind cackled gleefully.

"You're right! C'mon 'Kura-chan, I want you to meet my friends~!" Ino giggled as she grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her towards... her friends, most likely.

Sakura couldn't help but wonder who they could be. Is it someone she already knows or a completely new friend of Ino's?

"Bye, daddy!" Ino called without turning.

"B-Bye!" Sakura waved quickly at her father and friend's father as she was dragged away.

"Remember to come back for dinner!" Inoichi gave a brief smile towards the two girls but kept his sights set on Akio.

"Have fun, sweetheart!" Was the last thing she heard her father say to her before she found herself outside again, but this time in the back yard of Ino's house.

"Well, aren't they both an excited bunch?" Inoichi smiled towards Akio, his eyes studying the other man.

Akio was smiling casually, letting out a welcoming air around him. His eyes were a warm shade and showed sincerity in them.

"How about we sit down? We have so much to talk about."

Had Inoichi been anyone else, he wouldn't have noticed the predatory look hidden _very_ deeply in the depth of Akio's eyes. That look of danger, that air of power camouflaged underneath an air of a friendly and almost airheaded smiling man who is too obsessed with his daughter.

Anyone else would see Akio to be a normal loving father who is unable to harm a single fly, which is why so many are confused when they first meet the normal retired Haruno Akio.

A man of legend who looks nothing like how history makes him out to be.

And he has a daughter who shows great promise. The daughter of a prodigy.

Very little could see _that_ side to Akio, but only if he allows them to see it.

 _'A very intellectual man indeed...'_

"Of course~! I am so excited to learn about the father of my baby's first friend!" Akio gave a closed eye smile. Beaming excitedly and innocently towards the other father.

When he finally opened his eyes, Inoichi could no longer see even a hint of that perilous man in front of him. As if it was never there to begin with.

 _'… Dangerously so.'_


	15. Hide and Seek

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me; he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 **A/N:** Before I begin the story, please be aware of somethings... what I or anyone write here or on any other platform should not be judged to harshly just because we do not stick with the Canon plot. FANfiction is a site where everyone is free to write whatever they wish to write about, be it based on a show, book, etc. My story is definitely considered an AU and it _definitely_ will not follow the canon plotline. The story changes constantly as I write, so don't be shocked about changes that do not follow the original storyline.

(My response to an Anonymous reviewer) Concerning the story, I am fully aware that the OC, Sara comes off as someone who is both weak and childish considering her mental age, but that is the way I made her NOW. In chapter 6 where Sara pranks the genin teams that were assigned to babysit her (OC's made specifically for that purpose), while it was meant to be taken as a joke, it seems to have upset some people. At the time, I thought it was clear that 'Sara' wasn't really herself (The fact that she blacked out as Sakura's body was taken over). I thought it was clear that the mentality of young Sakura and old Sara is unstable, causing a disruption of personality until the body grows accustomed to the abrupt changes of having more than one soul, but turns out that it's not.

I am sorry if I end up offending people, but of course I can't please everyone. I only need to please myself. I write what I want to write, and some people actually enjoy my stories, so if you or anyone doesn't, then there are plenty of other stories all around this site and more that will suit your tastes. There is no need to be rude, so just press the 'Back' button and carry on with your life while letting everyone else carry on with theirs.

 _Chapter 15: Hide and Seek_

* * *

"I-Ino, you were going too fast!" Sakura panted at the fast pace she was forced into by the blonde girl.

"Haaah? What're you talking about?" Ino crossed her arms with an amused huff.

"Anyway," She shrugged. "Sakura! Meets my 'friends', Chōji! And Shikamaru... Guys! Meet Sakura-chan!" Ino introduced excitedly at first, deadpanned when she was mentioning her second friend and quickly perking up at the end.

"H-hello... S-Sakura-chan..." A chubby young boy with round pink cheeks waved shyly at her.

"Troublesome..." A second boy with a pineapple hairstyle said, scratching the back of his head.

Ino frowned.

"Don't worry, that's just the way Shika is. Just don't pay the lazy bum any attention!" Ino grinned at Sakura, ignoring the annoyed "Oi." from said lazy bum.

"Ino, why?" Sakura groaned at the girl. After their second meeting, both Sakura and Ino grew closer. It helped that Ino introduced Sakura to her friends and was helping Sakura on getting over her insecurities.

Ino just smirked and winked teasingly at Sakura.

"Didn't I say I'll make you bloom~?" Sakura resisted the urge to facepalm.

Ino is Sakura's first friend, and she also knows about Sara's hate of meeting new people.

 _"You're really amazing, you know?"_ Sakura recalled one of their conversation together where she reveals a side to her that is wholly Sara.

 _"Hm? Why?"_

 _"You are always so outgoing and confident where I... I just... REALLY hate socializing. I actually prefer staying indoors most of the time."_

 _"Eeeh?! But you seem so happy when you're playing with us! Are we making you uncomfortable?"_ Sakura remembered how quickly she reacted that time. She shook her head and waved her hand in denial after seeing how concerned the young blue-eyed girl was.

 _"No, no! I surprisingly enjoy hanging out with you and the others! It's just..."_ she paused. _"While I DO prefer staying indoors, ever since I... lost my memories, my body kept acting up, making me feel more restless and giddy than I used to be."_

 _"Hmm..."_ Ino hummed, processing the information. _"While I don't understand everything, I think your body is a talking instead of you!"_

 _"What?"_

 _"I feel like your body is... uh... like uh... it's like a reflection of who you are!"_ Ino grinned excitedly at what she said _. "You are like a flower who wants to bloom but doesn't have enough sun and water. Your body needs sun and water, but you are stopping it from getting any!"_

Sakura blushed at the accusing look and pointed finger being directed at her.

 _"I don't—"_

 _"Nope! You can't deny it!"_ Ino smirked _. "But don't you worry, just leave everything to me and I will make sure the day you bloom will come!"_

"Hehe~" Ino laughed to herself. "Just accept it~ Trust me, the moment you accept it, everything will be much easier!"

"'Just accept it', huh?" Sakura mumbled to herself. "Accept it..."

Resigned, Sakura turned back to the two boys who kept looking at her and Ino, waiting for the girls to finish their conversation patiently.

"Sorry, my name is Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you both!" Sakura quickly gave a short but polite bow, forcing her voice to come out sounding excited.

"N-nice to meet you too!" Chōji seemed to relax and gave her a dimpled smiled. Sakura recalled him and Shikamaru sharing a few words while she was talking with Ino, and whatever they were, they obviously made the Akimichi's tense shoulders relax considerably.

Sakura tried to keep her gaze away from Shikamaru without it being suspicious because _of course_ she'd meet a Nara.

Honestly, Uchiha, Yamanaka, Hyūga, Hatake, Akimichi and now Nara. All in one day. Just give her a break already. She felt stressed enough, though not as much as she assumed she'd be.

 _'I might be getting used to this.'_ She mused. _'That or I am too tired to care. Though, I wish he'd stop looking at me so intensely'_

"Welp! Now that everyone knows everyone, let's play hide and seek! Not it!" Ino declared loudly.

Shikamaru groaned loudly in annoyance while Sakura stared in slight surprise at her friend.

 _'Well that escalated quickly.'_

Chōji continued to smile as if that was normal everyday thing.

"Not it." Shikamaru said soon after.

"... Not it." Chōji said hesitantly and gave Sakura an apologetic look.

'It's fine.' Sakura tried to say in her eyes.

"I'll count to 20." She mumbled, and as soon as her back was turned she heard the leaves move and knew she was alone.

"1..." She began. By the time she was done with counting she realized that the backyard had barely any hiding spots and the backdoor was wide open.

 _'No, they wouldn't just leave. Would they?'_

Sakura rushed to the trees, hoping to find a pair of legs or a piece of fabric but came up empty handed. She checked the bushed around her but still, no one.

"C'mon guys. You can't all be hiding behind that bus~!" She quickly pushed the bush away to reveal... nothing.

"What?" Having looked everywhere she possibly could, Sakura could say with absolute certainty that Ino and the two boys were not in the backyard.

Sakura casted a nervous look behind her, the open door was taunting her.

 _'What kind of parents allow their kids to easily leave the house?'_ She asked herself then snorted.

 _'Look who's talking.'_

"One more." She said to herself. There was still one more place she had to look at, the house.

Sakura quickly rushed inside the house and spotted her dad and Inoichi chatting together, with the Yamanaka smiling awkwardly with an anime sweat drop and Akio smiling all sparkles and rainbows.

She didn't want to ask.

"Sakura! Back so soon?" Akio said but looked very happy to see her.

"Oh, um, no. You wouldn't happen to have seen Ino or two boys enter the house, would you?" She asked timidly, hoping they would say 'yes'.

Akio went rigid the moment she said 'boys' and gained a dark shadow over his face. He was useless to her.

"No, no one came in here." Inoichi informed. Sakura's shoulders slumped in defeat. That meant they really _did_ leave the backyard! How was she supposed to find them? they could be anywhere!

"O-okay, thanks—"

"You are playing Hide and Seek, am I correct? And I am guessing that those three rascals hid somewhere other than the backyard?" Sakura froze the moment the words left Inoichi's lips.

"Well, yes, but—" He chuckled at her reaction.

"Don't worry, Ino does this all the time." He reassured her that no one was in trouble. "Don't worry about trying to find them, they never hide too far from the house." He winked.

"Oh." Sakura felt her body relax. Ino's father gave out the feeling similar to... well, a father! He easily made her feel comfortable around him and somehow, she felt like she could trust him.

"You better go find them before time is out~" That jolted Sakura out of her thoughts.

"Yes, thank you!" She called out as she ran back the way she came.

"W-wait, Sakura!" Akio called out too late.

"No!" he jumped out the chair he was sitting at, ready to run off after his daughter.

"Wait, Akoi-san!" Inoichi held the crazed man back.

"BOYS!" the father cried out. "No one told me BOYS were around my Cherry Blossom!"

 _'Ah.'_

"Please, Akio-san, Chōji and Shikamaru are good kids! I swear to you nothing will happen to your daughter." Inoichi reassured, using his more calming tone. Akio turned very slowly towards the man holding him back from protecting his daughter.

 **"So that's their names, huh?"**

"... Just give them one hour—" Inoichi tried to negotiate.

"Fifteen minutes."

"Twenty minutes—" Akio gave a very demonic look followed by a feral growl.

"... Fifteen minutes... just give them fifteen minutes and you'll see Sakura, okay?"

"Hn."

 _'How very Uchiha-like.'_ Inoichi slowly let go of the Akio and tried to bring them back to what they were talking about before Sakura came in.

He hoped the kids finish their game early because he didn't know for how long he could distract the Haruno for, or if he could.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry about the long author note on top, I really needed to get that off my chest. Anyways, I hope I didn't upset anyone and if I did, then please feel free to express yourselves as much as you want. I am happy to talk to and apologize should I ever be in the wrong.

Anyways, see you all in the next episode!


	16. A Step Forward

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me; he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 _Chapter 16: A Step Forward_

* * *

"The first step towards change is awareness. The second is acceptance."

— Nathaniel Branden

* * *

The moment Sakura walked through the open gates, she felt her stomach twist with butterflies. And not the good kind.

People of various shapes and sizes were walking around chatting aimlessly to one another. All unfamiliar in many ways.

Having a quick look around for any familiar signs of her Hide and Seek buddies yielded nothing. Of course, they wouldn't make it easier for her and hide nearby, but honestly, what was she expecting?

For a second, Sakura thought that maybe Ino would be standing behind the gates waiting to surprise the pink haired girl. Sakura honestly wouldn't put it past the surprisingly mischievous girl.

"That would make it too easy, wouldn't it?" She mumbled softly to herself, feeling a fond smile grace her chubby face.

No matter how much Sara tried to deny the whole thing of being in a fictional world surrounded by fictional characters, she still couldn't stop her lonely heart from growing attached to those that without fail kept sticking close to her, even through her more 'emo' stage.

"Hmm…" She hummed, giving another critical look at her surroundings. Where could her playmates be hiding? She wondered.

Sakura's gaze lingered to the left specifically as she asked herself their location. She had a feeling telling her that they might have went in that direction, so without a moment of doubt she began her trek down the pathway, mindful of her surroundings.

Only a little bit of walking, listening to her gut feeling. Going straight, then right, then left, and Sakura already felt a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips at the sight laid out before her.

"I wonder who else has such bright colored hair~?" She teased at the girl peeking from behind a tree at a random direction, giving her back to the Seeker. Said girl gave a startled yelp and turned so quickly that Sakura feared she might have given herself a whiplash.

"W-wha— when did you—?" Ino stuttered as she stared with wide baby blue eyes at equally as wide emerald green eyes.

The two girls stared at each other for a few seconds before breaking into a fit of giggles.

"You found me!" Ino said with a large smile then placed her hands on her hips. "Jeez, what took you so long?"

"Hey, I didn't think you could leave the lawn!" Sakura was quick to defend herself.

"Oh, you can, but we are not allowed to go _too_ far away." The blonde explained, not lessening her stance.

"Well, no one told me that, and we never had that rule before." Sakura pouted, thinking about previous games she played with Ino, Haru, Aito and Handa.

"Blah, blah, blah. Excuses, excuses." Ino mocked. Waving one arm around her mockingly with a wide Cheshire-like smile. Sakura glared with slumped shoulders at her friend's usual antics.

"So, who's seeking? Betcha I was the last person you found, ne~?" Ino cooed with glee. Feeling proud of how long it took the pink haired girl to find her.

"Uh, no." Sakura began matter-of-factly without a hint of remorse. " _You_ are the first person I found. I got too busy looking around the backyard and the house. So~ _you_ will be the one seeking after _we_ find everyone else."

The smug look being directed at the dumbfounded girl did not help lessen her wounded pride.

"w-wha— bu— huh—? You found ME before SHIKAMARU!?" She screeched.

"HOW? I was in a good spot, too!" Ino could not believe that she was found before the super lazy Nara who NEVER hides too far away from the seeker seeing as he can't be bothered to actually put any effort into the games she makes— _forced_ — them to play.

Normally, Shikamaru is always the first to be found. Either sleeping or cloud gazing at a bluntly obvious place that makes anyone who is seeking roll their eyes at his form. Yamanaka Ino prided herself to being the absolute best in Hide and Seek. Generally being one of the last few people found, until today where her dreams shattered thanks to the Nara who apparently suddenly found the motivation to actually _try_ to hide for once.

"A-a-a trick! O-o-or he must be hiding in a place so obvious that you didn't see him! O-or—!"

"Tsk, tsk." Sakura cut off the frazzled blondes unlimited ranting off before it got too out of hand. She knew that if she didn't intervene now, then the blonde would never shut up and forever keep the game on a standstill. "Excuses, excuses~"

The same actions Ino made to Sakura was brought right back to her face, causing the blonde's face to explode in color.

"Now, since I found you, YOU get to help me find the others~" Sakura cackled with glee at her friend pouting.

"Mark my words, Haruno Sakura. I will have my revenge." Ino said, attempting to look threatening, but her amused smile and laughing eyes made it very hard to not smile back.

"Oh? W-well—" Suddenly both girls were brought into another fit of giggles. They shared a look after calming down and Ino looked to the side with her hands on her hips and a concentrated look in her baby blue eyes.

"We'll talk later." Ino promised, already picking a direction to go to. "You go the other way." She ordered as she began her determined treat to finding the other two hiders.

"'Kay~" Sakura called back to Ino's retreating back. Looking around for signs of the other two herself. She couldn't keep the smile of her face no matter how much she told herself how weird she looks being alone with a wide grin in public, but she couldn't help herself.

No matter how demanding and almost snobbish Ino acted, Sakura found it hard to not grow to liking the blonde the more time they spend together. Ino was the first person to actually reach out to not Sakura, but Sara, and the young blonde kept drawing out the skittish woman while channeling the natural outgoing instinct of a child. It was as if she _knew_ and wanted to help patiently.

Additionally, the Yamanaka was super intuitive and mature for her age. Making it easy to hold a fun conversation with the stubborn and headstrong blonde.

It's strange how usually Sara doesn't like to hang out with Ino's type of people, seeing them too... _ahem_ — troublesome, but the young child about the same age and size as her physical body became the genuine friend of someone who is hard to befriend so effortlessly, so intelligently. And that made Sara take a step back on her frustration and denial of the fictional world and admire the young blonde who took charge in everything.

It was hard to not respect Yamanaka Ino. The girl was much too clever than what was initially expected. Plus, she made Sara feel ashamed of herself. A young child half her age was taking charge and helping _her,_ not the other way around. It was about time that Sara actually began acting her own mental age, even with all those additional childish tingles that made her body super hyper and jumpy. Or... to at least put an effort.

 _'No more running away.'_ She swore to herself. Though, she was still holding on to that hope of everything being just a long vibrant dream that she would eventually wake up from, but at least now she wouldn't be... as depressed as she was before.

Sara felt like now would be the best time to do things that she always wished to do, but never could. To let her inner child out and actually have fun. If she suddenly woke up to finding everything to be a dream, then she would have wasted a God given dream being stuck in a constant state of fear and paranoia.

 _'Blood...'_ A still scared part of Sara's mind whispered back. Thinking about the future filled with hurt and killing. It's wrong to kill. Wrong! It shouted.

Sakura quickly pushed that part away, telling herself that she was still very young for anything to actually happen.

 _'There's more than enough time for me. No need to think too far ahead into a future that is not set in stone. Already, everything is so different from canon that it's not I am in a world different from the show with only the characters existing.'_ She reassured herself. _'Now, we find our friends.'_ With that, Sakura was back in track, looking around with sharp eyes.

She was going back to the way she came from seeing as Ino went to find the others in her initial direction. A quick look around and she spotted something that caught her attention. The people that were usually walking normally semi-close to each other were suddenly huddled together. Giving an unnatural wide breath to something in the middle.

The thing— person in the middle had a shock of yellow hair. For a second Sakura thought it was her friend Ino, but another look and the girl noticed how unusually spiky the hair was to be her friend, plus the tanned skin color darker than the Yamanaka's fair skin.

Sakura automatically raised her hands up high, catching the sky-blue eyes so similar yet very different from her friend, and gave a chipper but shy hello. Unsure of how to act with the individual after their last encounter.

After so long of looking fruitlessly for the child, she actually found him when she wasn't looking! How ironic.

She smiled happily and took a couple of steps forward before stilling. The blonde boy flinched away from her and looked at her with fearful trembling eyes.

"Naruto...?" She questioned softly. Too softly for his name to reach him, and saw him take a step back, looking about ready to dash away.

 _'Oh,_ hell _no!_ ' Her mind shouted, insulted. No way in hell was she letting him escape for who know how much longer. She has no idea what she did that could have offended him and made him look at her with such an expression, but she wasn't going to sit idly by and let him escape her sight again.

Besides, she _really_ hated seeing that expression on his face.


	17. His New Friend

**Full Summary:** What happens when a woman from our world wakes up one day in the body of an anime character, Haruno Sakura, at the age of five. Exactly seven years before the graduation exams, and she refuses to follow the time line and be the weak damsel in distress fangirl canon!Sakura was in the original series. How will this change anything? Rated T for language and violence in later chapters.

 **Disclaimer:** Naruto does not belong to me; he and the characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

 **Warning:** Rushed chapter means plenty of errors. Also, please note that the story will be put On Hold until further notice.

 _Chapter 17: His First Friend_

* * *

"Naruto...?" She questioned softly. Too softly for his name to reach him, and saw him take a step back, looking about ready to dash away.

 _'Oh,_ hell _no!_ ' Her mind shouted, insulted. No way in hell was she letting him escape for who know how much longer. She has no idea what she did that could have offended him and made him scared of her, but she wasn't going to sit idly by and let him escape her sight again.

Besides, she _really_ hated seeing that expression on his face.

* * *

Mustering up all her inner social little girl persona, Sakura waved her arm cheerfully in the air and merrily jogged towards Naruto with a shout of his name, acting completely oblivious to any attention she's drawing to herself.

Thankfully, Naruto froze up where he stood, giving Sakura ample time to reach him before he could recover and most likely book it out of there.

"Hey..." She breathed out, nervous but trying to play it off as her being out of breath from running around. "I've been looking all over for you. Do you not go to the park much?"

 _'Stupid!'_ Sakura berated herself. Why did she start with _that_? 'I've been looking all over for you?' That was really stupid of her to say, making it seem like she was going out of her way to look for the blonde, plus she came out too strongly on him.

The guilty flinch Naruto gave made Sakura beat herself up harder. She mentally cursed and opened her mouth to apologize profusely.

"I missed you." Is what she said instead. She then reached her hand out to gently stir Naruto away from the middle of the road seeing as they were blocking the people coming and going.

Naruto simply moved with her prompting numbly. Staring at her with comically wide orbs. Sakura could feel the judging eyes of many people drilling into her form, but she insistently kept her attention focused solely on Naruto.

She had to pretend that no one else existed, else she loses all her courage. It doesn't help that in her previous life she was someone who cared drastically about what others, more precisely older people thought of her. Here, she had to push her old insecurities aside and at least _try_ to be a child. Try to be someone she secretly admired in her previous life.

"Y-you... R-really?"

It took a moment for Sakura to figure out what Naruto was saying.

"Of course!" She mimicked his well-known smile. Well... His well-known smile from the future that is.

"Last time we played together was fun! And I wanted to play like that again with my first friend~" If Naruto wasn't dumbfounded before, then he sure was now.

"..." His eyes glittered with unshed tears.

 _'Crap, did she mess up again?'_ Sakura panicked.

Naruto had so much to say,

"F-friend?" Was all he said even though he had much running through his mind. So much to say, so much to ask. Was she serious? Did the pretty girl actually mean what she said? What she was saying before... was it true?

Hope started to bloom inside Naruto's chest. He tried to push it down, remembering all the times he got hurt thinking that maybe... he will make a friend. So many times... He wanted to lose all hope seeing as all that feeling brought was disappointment, but that was just impossible for him. Naruto still hoped, he still dreamed. He believed that if he tried hard enough, then maybe one day...

One day...

Could this day be now?

No! He can't think that. Besides, he waited till the sun went down for the strangely colored girl to come, but she didn't. Naruto felt scared that last time they played was the first and last, and he _really_ did not want to see the kind girl stare at him like all the others. He wanted to remember their happy time together, not let it get corrupted.

It hurt to avoid her every time he thought he caught a glimpse of her, but he was so very scared. The memory of her declaring them friends was still fresh in his mind and it brought such a warm happy feeling every time he recalled it, so... he had to protect it! Keep it close and safe. Never forget. Now... there was no place for Naruto to run and hide.

He felt trapped, until she spoke to him.

A wide innocent smile decorated her round face. Her hair was a mess, but Naruto couldn't help but think it was so pretty the way it fell around her face. So pretty. She was so pretty.

The best part was her eyes, they were not how he thought they will be. No, they were as bright as he remembered them.

Is he allowed to grow hopeful?

 _"Last time we played together was fun! And I wanted to play like that again with my first friend~"_

If he was dreaming, then he never wanted to wake up!

Were they... 'friends'? He wanted to know, he HAD to now!

Her eyes that were the same color as the leaves on trees softened into a look that vaguely reminded Naruto of his Jii-chan. It was almost sad, but so very kind.

"Of course. We are friends." Hearing those words made this powerful feeling take hold of the young boy's chest. He wanted to cry, but not in sadness, in happiness. He was so very happy.

 _'No, no, no!'_ He physically slapped himself on both checks. He couldn't cry! Not in front of his f-friend!

"Ah..." He felt his cheeks redden more at the worried look on the girl's face.

"I'm okay!" He squeaked out, feeling a wide grin overtake his face. "We... We're friends?" He asked happily, excited.

"Un!" Sakura nodded at him. She looked like she wanted to say or do something but held back.

Naruto wondered what that was, though it didn't matter much to him besides the news he just recieved. He has a friend!

"So..." Naruto snapped back into attention. He saw Sakura shift almost nervously to the side with a cute expression on her pink face.

"Do you... want to play with me?" She stared at him from beneath her long eyelashes.

 _'YES!'_

"W-well, not really with _me_ , more like me and my other friends." Oh. "We were playing Hide and Seek before I saw you. I'm sure you'll like them~ They are all very nice." She gave him another warm smile, looking at him hopefully.

Naruto desperately wanted to say yes, even though the thought of meeting others slightly scared him. What if they tell Sakura to stop being his friend? What if they stop being _her_ friend because she is his? No matter what, Naruto didn't want that to happen to his first kind friend.

Besides...

"What is going on?"

"Are you seeing this?"

"Why is that _boy_ talking to that poor girl?"

"Did you hear that? Did that girl actually say they were friends?"

"Is she crazy?"

The people... looked very scary. Sakura seemed oblivious to their stares and murmurs, but Naruto could _feel_ everything. The stares, the words that that brought pain, everything. Would her friends be the same?

"Naruto?"

"Ah!" Naruto jumped. "S-sorry, Sakura-chan! I really can't play now!" He declined, feeling bad as he saw his friend's smile dim.

"I was supposed to meet my Jii-chan." He quickly explained. It wasn't technically a lie, he was in the middle of going to visit gramps before being stopped by Sakura.

"But I promise to play with you next time, believe it!"

"Then... how about the park? We could meet there tomorrow or the day after~" Naruto grew warm from the sheer amount of happiness his body was experiencing.

"Hai! I'll be there tomorrow!"

"Is three good for you? I will be a bit busy in the morning, so..."

"Yes! Any time!" Naruto grinned excitedly.

"Sakura!" Naruto heard someone calling his friend's name and looked behind her to see a blonde girl with two boys waving her over to them from a distance. They must be the friends she was talking about. They also looked familiar.

"Oh, she found the others." He heard Sakura mumble softly to herself with a surprised expression before turning to him with her usual smile.

"Goodbye, Naruto-kun. I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay~?" Sakura paused deliberately, as if considering something before stepping closer and giving Naruto a gentle hug.

Naruto froze.

Slowly, he lifted his arms up to awkwardly return her affections.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Was her parting word as she daintily pulled away and jogged to her loud friends.

Naruto has a friend now, and... she hugged him.

Sakura was the second person to ever hug Naruto. The first was his Jii-chan. He wondered if more hugs will come in the future. He really liked them, they were so warm.

* * *

 **A/N:**

This chapter was very hard to write down since I barely had any time to sit down and type anything. This past month was pretty hectic, and I was honestly considering not writing an actual chapter, but I somehow managed to push through and do it~ :3

Anyway, as I mentioned on the top, this story is going to be put **On Hold**. I need to put all my attention on University seeing as I am finally studying in my major, and already they are giving us work to do. Hopefully I will be able to post a chapter or two throughout the extended wait, but I'm not too sure on that. Either way, when everything calms down and I find some common ground, I hope to actually move on with the story since I was just having fun playing around with it~ See you all then!


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